#hopefully i can rely less on references soon

[r4bbitmilk]

Continuously trying to improve my art so i can make increasingly beautiful Sakura Harukas the way god intended for him to be portrayed. My most beautiful boy

[crystallizedday]

EDIT FROM THE FUTURE: THIS POST IS OUTDATED!! AN UPDATED RENDITION OF THE AU WILL BE HOPEFULLY POSTED SOON!!

So a couple of weeks ago, I established the basic outline for my Samurai Jack AU: Duo of Doom.

Despite it already being so fuckin massive, I still have a lot to still talk about regarding the AU, hence why I am making this post.

The purpose of this post is to outline ALL itty bitty details that I’m working with for the AU, which will collectively be referred to as “headcanons” cause I dunno what else to call them… and they’re canon to the AU anyway, so uh… “headcanons” feel the most appropriate.

So, without stalling, let’s get into this!!

Imma split this up into 3 sections: one for Demongo, one for Scara, and then a miscellaneous category where I talk about small ideas I have for a variety of characters.

Before we get right into it, I want to stress that MUCH of Demongo’s personality and abilities will stem from what was established in the Cartoon Network MMO game Fusionfall, which explored and added onto Demongo’s character quite a bit. I will let y’all know when some of these headcanons stem from Fusionfall so it’s clear where exactly I got these ideas from.

Okie dokie! Enough stalling. Let’s dig into this!!

Demongo

• Despite him being pretty well known in the early days of the fandom as the “lava lamp” guy with how bubbly his fiery head was, I like to think he genuinely has a large variety of fire-based powers under his belt. After all, it is a key move he has as a nano in Fusionfall as well as something the real Demongo in game claims he has the ability to do during his “All the World’s a Stage” missions. I believe that while he can be rather flexible with what he can do with his fire-based powers, he sticks to simply using fire itself as an offensive move, such as using fire breath to make himself practically a walking flamethrower. He definitely can just summon fire with the flick of his wrist, but I like to think he enjoys the gigachad move of going dragon-mode JUST so he can seem as tough as possible.

• Speaking of him using fire moves offensively, thanks to a texturing mishap on Demongo’s model in Fusionfall, I got the cute idea of him having the ability to heat up his own fingers and dish out fiery scratches so he can look cool as shit. Additionally, he can use this ability just to make himself look a lil more stylish. Yeah, that’s right. Those blue “painted nails” in his later DOD designs? That’s just bro using his powers to make em LOOK like painted nails. They don’t feel all that hot on the surface, so anyone else can touch them just fine without getting burned… assuming Demmy doesn’t wanna burn you. It’s really up to him if he just wants to give you third degree burns.

• I keep mentioning how Demmy really enjoys looking cool, and that is because this version of Demongo is veeeeeeeeeeery insecure about his actual strength. This is hinted at a bit in his debut episode, but I took this concept and ran with it for the AU. As the story goes on, he relies less and less on his stolen souls as he starts using more of his powers that he naturally has (which is mainly just his fire powers). While he goes around acting like he’s the shit, he doesn’t have the best self esteem, making him very hesitant and scared to be vulnerable in any way. This changes over the course of the story, but for the majority of it all, he struggles to find worth in himself.

• Forcing himself to have such a high view of himself (assuming he doesn’t let himself get vulnerable) is something he believes he has to do, not only just to make it in this world (since I doubt Aku was gonna keep letting someone who is openly insecure stay in the higher ranks), but also due to how they correlate with his powers. Reaching a mentally low point will cause his fire to go out as he goes into his “depowered” form (even if his skulls are still present). In this state, he can’t use any of his abilities. Think of it as his own soul becoming so demotivated that it becomes too weak for Demongo to harness his own abilities. If he lets himself be emotionally vulnerable, he’s gonna be physically vulnerable too, and he just cannot have that.

• Just like a vampire, he steals the souls of his warriors via biting them, preferably when the target is too worn out to fight back. It’s pretty much OVER if bro ever pierces the skin since that initiates some magical bullshit that reconfigures the target’s entire being into nothing but gas, which Demmy can easily consume.

• Being made up of carbon and other light elements, Demongo can destabilize his form to go into what I like to call his gas-mode… which is pretty much what it sounds like. He just turns into a black cloud of smoke that travels in the same way his soul essences do in his debut episode, all snake-like and shit. He can also teleport as seen in his episode, but that’s more of a magical thing than his gas form is.

• Despite the souls he collects giving him the strength he has, he CAN eat like any other regular being… well, sort of. He has a stomach, but it more so functions as a burner, burning anything he consumes that can later be redistributed as gases via… well, his fiery head. If something can be eaten away by an actual fire, he can easily consume it too. Really, anything that isn’t denser than carbon is easily “digestible” for him. Because of this, Demongo has an INTENSE sweet tooth and actively seeks out sugary treats. This also means bro cannot go vampire mode and consume blood as that shit has SO much iron in it. Bro would find that shit disgusting, not because it’s BLOOD necessarily, but because that shit is PACKED with such a heavy element.

• Demongo’s comfort food of choice is marshmallows, mainly because of how they’re mainly comprised of sugar and not much else. Hell, he’s pretty much a s’mores guy, which is quite fitting considering he’s a walking campfire. If you were to try and be goofy silly by roasting a marshmallow using his fire, he’d just bite the damn thing right off your stick. His fire, his rules.

• Thanks to how simplistic its chemistry is, alcohol is something Demongo (unfortunately) enjoys. Due to how he digests shit via burning anything he consumes, this results in him getting intoxicated VERY quickly. “Lightweight” doesn’t even BEGIN to describe this lil shit. Funnily enough, he also has the tendency to get all floaty and shit when he’s immensely intoxicated. He also gets EXTREMELY giggly. You could say the most dull and boring-ass word in existence and this bitch will almost pass out from laughing. As funny as these experiences can be, Scara tries his best to limit whenever the lil fella can have alcohol… for both their sakes.

• While he still can get hurt, any physical damage he takes can be easily mended if he has the energy for it. This can take the form of cuts, bruises, blown-off appendages, bites (if that sounds sus, then you already know why I brought it up. I just like the irony it creates, I swear), getting crushed, anything like that. The only thing that can actively keep him down (outside of demoralizing him) would be to not give him time to heal and wear him down little by little or by using one POWERFUL enough attack that’s enough to knock him out, much like how he was originally defeated by Jack with that big explosion.

• The skulls on his torso are not actually the skulls of the warriors he defeats. They are made of the same components as him. I mean, he definitely can’t have thousands of warriors under his control while only realistically having like… dozens of skulls on him. The skulls merely provide a means of imbuing a warrior’s essence into a physical form that can be molded back into the warrior’s original being. They can go gas mode on their own once a warrior is defeated, returning back to Demongo to rejoin the rest of his skulls in its solid form. However, it is possible to take all the skulls off, cutting off all of Demmy’s powers and putting him in his depowered state. They can be reattached afterwards. In a way, they’re like detachable scales (which is funny considering what’s coming up in a little bit). Demmy only ever removes his skulls to sleep better (and to not unknowingly catch anything on fire, of course), if/when he chooses to sleep. The only person that’s seen Demongo willingly detach his skulls is Scaramouche, especially since Demmy is in a very vulnerable state in this form.

• If any of his skulls remain detached from his body for a decently long time, his body will naturally reconstruct a new one to take its place.

• Regardless of whether or not his skulls have been detached, Demongo will enter his depowered state once he falls asleep. It helps him preserve energy this way.

• Demongo cannot be easily killed since any form of beheading or dismemberment only results in him having to manifest the missing part of his body, which is merely a minor annoyance to him. However, he’s not invincible. Right in the middle of his chest is his “core,” which is his TRUE “being” in a way. It is essentially his brain and his heart. His core can be vaguely seen whenever he goes into gas mode, if you can look past the smoke and shit. His core NEEDS to stay as scorching as possible. Extinguishing the core (mainly by cooling it to dangerously low temperatures) will result in Demongo’s death.



• Despite being fairly humanoid, Demongo has some lizard-like properties. This is mainly apparent in his ability to smell. Since he doesn’t have an actual nose, he relies on his tongue to sniff out anything of value, which is why he can typically be seen “blepping” from time to time, especially if food is nearby. Additionally, I like to think he specifically takes after the blue tongued skink for… obvious reasons. Here’s a funni lil art piece I made just for this one headcanon LAMWKSMWOSM

• This advanced control over the temperature of his body allows Demmy to manually mend things (like metal) back together, so if Scara takes any damage (mainly minor gashes), Demmy can just… seal that shit back up with ease with nothing but the tip of his finger!

• Fusionfall claimed that Demongo had the ability to place “charms” on certain objects, and while I still find that ability kinda stupid, I wanted to repurpose it for this AU. I like to think that Demongo has dabbled in magic outside of the kind he already has within him. He does not have much use for this knowledge outside of creating enchanted weaponry, but it at least gives him some insight on how various forms of magic work. As a result, he’s very knowledgeable about the subject.

• While he can speak English just fine, his primary language is Japanese. He rarely ever speaks in it since rarely anyone around him knows the language, but since he was never taught how to write in English, he only knows how to write in the Japanese alphabet. He strives to be better at writing English, sometimes dabbling in French since Scara knows that shit like the back of his hand.

• As much as he may claim to hate them, bro actually loves hearing a good pun, especially if he finds it particularly clever or unexpected. If any of you are familiar with his Nano counterpart’s audio files, you’ll probably know where I’m pulling this info from. OWMWOSMSOSSKSOSK Ah, and he additionally finds anything Scara says to be the funniest shit in the world, regardless of quality. Just a dorky lil fella who is absolutely in love OWNWKWMWOSMDDOXMON

• “Growing up” (for lack of a better term) in the Pit of Hate meant Demongo would not be too familiar with gestures of kindness and such at the start of the AU. While this fact is very apparent in a variety of ways (as seen in the tavern episode in the AU’s first season), this also has resulted in him being unfamiliar with physical gestures of kindness… aka bro’s never been fuckin hugged before. This would result in Demmy (in the earlier episodes of season 1) being surprised by touch, even from something as small as a simple pat on the back or a hand to the shoulder. He doesn’t HATE the sensation. It’s just unfamiliar to him at this point in the story. I’m pretty sure lil guy getting his first friendly hug from Scara was the point where he REALLY felt the effects of being touch starved, and while it’s hard for him to ask for support thanks to his fear of vulnerability during this section of the story, Scara thankfully is happy to oblige.

• As a result, Demmy has grown to really enjoy being held, typically through hugs or even being carried. This can be seen way more during season 2 when Demmy isn’t NEARLY as fearful of being vulnerable and such. Sometimes, he’ll try and act like he’s out of breath or is low on energy just as an excuse for Scara to carry him, but since he does it in such a dramatic and playful way, it’s easy to tell when he’s doing it on purpose. He’ll only ever outright ask to be carried if he feels comfortable enough (since that fear of vulnerability still lingers on, even if it’s not nearly as potent as it was in season 1).

• After he starts learning more and more about modern culture, he starts going by he/they since that shit just feels right to him… well, that and I just like putting a lil bit of my own quirks into the characters I write. I specifically see him identifying as a demiboy.

• Bro is gay. I’ve already mentioned that before, and there isn’t much else to say about it… I mean, I HAVE thought about referencing the famous Sam and Max line “But Max, you don’t even like girls” with Scara and Demmy before, just to make this lil fact about the lil guy clear, but I dunno how or when I’d even do it KQMQOWMOWKOSSKOJ

• Whenever bro gets flustered or blushes, his face HEATS up… like DRAMATICALLY. DO NOT forget that he’s just a walking campfire. As such, in some rare cases if he’s flustered enough for a prolonged period of time, he’ll start to kinda melt a little bit, just a little bit though.

• He HATES water. It stings for him. Rain is tolerable, even if he’d prefer to ignore it, and being submerged in water hurts like HELL. Same with snow and ice. None of it will kill him since he’ll neee to be in a FAR chillier environment for his life to be genuinely at risk, but he still prefers NOT to feel that kind of pain whenever he can avoid it.

• He likes wearing Scara’s big-ass coat. It’s comforting, in a way.

• Despite him not being super intelligent, Demmy’s quite knowledgeable about strategizing, finding enjoyment in commanding his own lil legion and carefully planning their every move. That is to say… he’s got the confidence and drive of your average Pokémon nuzlocker.

• There’s always been this lil joke in the fandom calling Demongo a theater kid, and despite THIS Demongo never having stepped foot in an actual theater (prior to meeting Scara), you can just TELL by the way he moves and talks in public that he’s a bit of an actor at heart. He talks loudly, boastfully even, exaggerating his gestures way too passionately, and is just VERY animated in general. Despite his insecurities, he genuinely does love to proudly express himself, which gets a lot easier for him to do as the story goes on.

• Speaking of how he tends to act in public, Demmy is… pretty fuckin mischievous towards others (or at least people he isn’t close to… ie Scara). Even if his target hasn’t done anything to him, he just enjoys playing jokes on people whenever he knows he can get away with it. However, if Demmy DOES decide he wants to be petty towards someone, he’ll go out of his way to make that person’s life MISERABLE while he just shrugs and plays it off like everything he does is just a lil accident. TLDR, if he doesn’t know or like you, he’s GONNA be a little shit towards you.

• As such, Demmy is not the friendliest person to be around. He is a certified ✨people hater✨, and would much rather stick with people he knows and trusts (ie Scara… again).

• As a bit of a nod to Demongo’s voice actor Kevin Michael Richardson (famous for his roles where he plays characters with extremely deep voices), Demongo’s voice actually has the same range as Kevin’s, meaning he can pull off the same kind of deep voices Kevin can. However, Demongo can only deepen his voice for a short amount of time before it strains his throat, so he doesn’t do it often. He only ever does this if it’s useful for something important or when he wants to play tricks on others (ie prank calls… maybe, assuming he can figure out how to use a cell phone first KANAOWMXOSMDOSMF).

• Remember that giant see-through skull that Demongo was summoned in at the end of his debut episode? The one Aku destroyed with him inside? Considering Demmy is made of the same stuff as diamonds, I like to think that the skull is made of diamond as well (to an extent, especially since it’s hollow on the inside). Perhaps this was the skull that Demongo first formed in, and was used to summon his essence whenever Aku desired… well, until the big guy crushed it, seeing no more use in keeping Demongo around. Of course, Demmy was just sent back to the Pit of Hate to be punished for his failure, but the destruction of that crystal skull meant Aku could no longer summon him at will, which is definitely a good thing for Demmy.

• While he was being punished in the Pit of Hate, he at one point regained enough power to teleport out of the grasp of the demons who were watching over him, eventually finding a way to escape the Pit and return to the surface to regain his full strength. Aku was never told about his escape due to the two demons that were supposed to watch over the fiery lil shit fearing they would be killed if Aku ever found out. The two have been searching for Demongo ever since.

Scaramouche

• Scaramouche is the more level-headed of the two numbskulls as it is EXTREMELY difficult to genuinely piss him off. He is just THAT naturally laidback. However, when he DOES get pissed, he doesn’t scream or make a big fuss about it. No. He goes dead silent. This often ends with someone getting their ass beat… before Scara immediately bounces back with that familiar chirpy attitude after everything’s said and done.

• Despite how he’s mainly known for his scatting, Scara CAN legitimately sing. He’s pretty damn good at it. It’s the same story with dancing as well. He enjoys teaching Demmy how to sing and dance like he can, and the lil guy’s been getting better and better at it ever since. They really are just two theater kids in love. KWNWOSNOSKON

• He is NOT a twink. I have no clue why everyone for so long was under the impression that he was, but just because his limbs are skinny as fuck doesn’t mean his entire build is. Naw. Naw, that guy’s fairly built, pun totally intended. KWNWKWKSOKOK

• You can tell something is wrong when Scara starts speaking “normally” without any quips or “babe”s being thrown about. This can either happen if he’s genuinely pissed off, scared, or is actively hiding something.

• Since his creator was a French scientist, Scara in his early days took an interest in learning the language alongside English. Because of this, present Scara is fluent in both languages, being able to speak and write in them flawlessly. Even so, he’s genuinely interested to learn Japanese, Demmy’s first language. He thinks it’s cute that the lil guy likes trying to teach him the language, so he’s all for it. Scara’s fully capable of learning the language himself since… well… he IS a robot built to quickly learn shit, but he still prefers Demmy teaching him instead. He finds it too adorable of an offer to pass up on.

• I’m not entirely sure on this one, but I like to think that due to him being a robot and all, he can’t eat human foods like Demongo can. Luckily for him, the world of SJ most likely accommodates for robotic civilians, thus having shit like electronic-based foods and beverages… probably.

• I can also see the SJ universe having like… an abundance of repair or mechanic centers so any robotic citizens with a dismembered or missing arm can be fixed up quickly and with ease, so I’m sure Scara takes advantage of this… despite Demmy taking interest in wanting to learn how to help repair the big guy by himself, which Scara is flattered by the offer, but he doesn’t wanna risk Demmy accidentally doing some irreversible damage.

• Since it’s been shown in the og show that robots apparently sweat oil (ew), that also goes for Scara. This is mainly for consistency reasons, because unlike Genndy himself, Tigera and I enjoy consistency and proper continuity. >:/

• When wanting to be endearing towards Demongo, he’ll either call him “bud” (more so during season 1) or “hon” (more so during season 2). He has a plethora of other nicknames for the lil shit, but these two are the most common ones he dishes out.

• Much of his humor consists of “adult humor”, just as he demonstrated in the original show’s 5th season. We all know which scene I’m talking about. Even so, he tries not to overuse those jokes too much. He’s not a walking Family Guy gag. He’ll still chuckle to himself if he hears some sus-as-fuck wording, but he won’t be witty about it if shit’s too easy to joke about.

• Overall, Scara just likes to crack jokes, regardless of what kind of joke it is or if it’s even debatably funny. Demmy finds them all funny, but it’s DEFINITELY out of bias.

• Bro is absolutely pansexual. Gender doesn’t matter to him. Everyone’s hot to him. KANWKWMWOSK

• He’s had plenty of flings in the past and even some relationships that lasted quite a while, so he’s got a lot of experience when it comes to that kind of thing. It’s where he gets his patience and openness in his relationship with Demmy.

• Unlike Demongo, Scara is VERY social and finds it EASY to befriend people… or at least MOST people. He enjoys talking with people, no matter who they might be. Really, he just loves to talk, and if he clicks with anyone in the process, well, that’s just a bonus! This has resulted in Demmy getting a lil jealous sometimes, but since bro makes it obvious when he feels that way, Scara’s quick to reassure him and resolve the issue as efficiently as he can…

because I am SO SICK of that stupid fucking trope of a couple squabbling for THE ENTIRE PLOTLINE BECAUSE OF ONE STUPID MISUNDERSTANDING THAT THEY COULD’VE DEALT WITH IF THEY HAD JUST TALKED TO EACH OTHER-

Ahem

Sorry about that.

I am

VERY passionate about how I write romance in my stories.

…

Because I do it RIGHT for once.

• Since this AU does not have as long of a time skip as season 5 did, Scaramouche has not yet reached the big leagues regarding his job as an assassin. He’s still trying to make a name for himself and garner the attention of Aku. Because of this, he hasn’t reached the level of “mercilessness” he claims to have in season 5, refusing to kill people who either don’t have a bounty on their head or aren’t looking to kill HIM in turn. He’s still got a more humane outlook on life and other people, and he isn’t nearly as much of a jerk as he is in season 5… even if he still has quite a big ego.

• As much as he claims to strive for a life of fame and luxury, he’s only aiming to ensure a financially stable and comfortable life for himself. Having to live on his own after his creator’s passing was tough due to the financial limitations it put on him, and while he’s in a much better position by the time he meets Demmy, he still can’t help but feel at least a little insecure about his financial situation and how he’d be potentially looked down upon by others of a much higher social class. This insecurity drives him to be noticed by Aku, since he believes the big guy will ensure he’s never looked down upon again. However, this drive wavers as the story goes on.

• Over the course of the AU, Scara’s faith in Aku dwindles little by little as he learns more about Demongo’s past and how he was treated as someone who WAS in the big leagues for a little while. This all ultimately culminates when Jack pleads that the two turn against Aku, since they’ll both probably be killed or imprisoned regardless of what they choose to do. Scara WOULD have thoughtlessly disregarded Jack’s plea if it wasn’t for Demmy and his history pretty much confirming everything Jack was warning them about. THIS is why Scara chooses to back Demmy up and form a temporary alliance with Jack.

• In the event that his head is disconnected from his body (like in season 5), Scara has a very limited amount of backup power that can allow him to get himself to someone who can fix him up. I know his white eyes in the show were most likely a coloring error, but I like to think the change in eye color (in this AU specifically) indicates whenever he’s running on that backup power. Just like in the fifth season, he can also adapt to the bodies of other living creatures so it’s a lil easier for him to travel.

Miscellaneous

• Since the concept of the fae has some origins in Scottish mythology, I thought it would be neat to include that shit in Scotsman’s character. Since Demongo is a mischievous magical being (and since demons overlap with the fae a lot in this kind of mythology), I can see the two characters having MAJOR beef with one another with the Scotsman claiming Demmy is nothing but a troublesome fae with Demongo taking GREAT offense to that claim, thus solidifying their pure hatred for one another.

• Despite Scara’s inclusion in this AU, the timeline roughly follows that of the comics where Jack DOES age normally and gets his sword destroyed at some point. Like in the comics, Aku IMMEDIATELY sensed when the sword was destroyed, which is why Jack needs to go into hiding and mask his appearance as best as he can to ensure Aku can never find him and take advantage of the situation. Jack would also later manifest the “spiritual” sword he gets in the comics. Some events in season 5 still occur, such as the Daughters of Aku still existing alongside the cult that raised them, but anything else that happened in season 5 that isn’t present in DoD’s story most likely didn’t happen in the AU.

• Despite Jack having his “sword” with him for the final fight, his sword alone cannot vanquish Aku for good. The sword is only just as good as the original sword, which would result in the same events that occurred when Jack’s father defeated Aku for the very first time. Aku would be merely sealed into the earth below until he could be freed by another inevitable solar eclipse. This is why Demongo is the one to truly defeat Aku. No solar eclipse will allow his essence to escape Demongo’s hold on him, and the only way for him to be set free is by defeating Demongo and freeing Aku from the inside out… or just by simply killing Demongo.

• I like to think this AU takes place roughly 30 years after the last episode of the original series. Familiar characters aren’t as old as they would be in season 5, so characters like the Scotsman are still quite capable, even if he’s definitely no longer in his prime.

• Even if it’s only relevant for brief calendar scenes, I REALLY wanted to figure out a solid date for both the original series and the AU. Since Jack came from the Edo Period of Japan (or at the very least, it’s widely accepted that he did), I’d say it was roughly… 1624 when Jack was about to slay Aku before he got flung into the future. Imma say he probably got sent 400 years into the future, which would put him in 2024 by real-world time standards. However, since Aku was in charge, he instated his own universal rule for tracking time, with 1624 now being 0 BA (before Aku). This would put Jack in 400 AA (after Aku) or just 400. Since the AU takes place around 30 years later, this would mean the story takes place somewhere in the 430s… or I guess the 30s for short.

• Social media is still very much a thing in this universe, parodying the platforms we’re all familiar with in the real world. The only one that’s really relevant is the fictional counterpart to Twitter, which imma call Yapper cause it’s at least a better name than what it’s ACTUALLY being called nowadays. Scara absolutely has his own account where he frequently posts either funny shit or pictures of him and Demmy together. The big guy is NOT afraid to get gushy as fuck with the captions, so their relationship is not exactly a secret to the rest of the world. Demmy doesn’t have his own account because 1) he doesn’t have his own device to use it on, and 2) he’s a ✨people hater✨ and typically doesn’t care what other people think or do. Even so, he doesn’t mind Scara talking about him and sharing photos of the two of em online. He finds it really flattering, actually.

• HeadTake allows for users to be composed of groups either by merging two existing accounts that can be separated later if needed or by simply updating the user’s status if any additional members never obtained their own account, such as Demongo. Ever since he and Scara started actively working together in season 1, the big guy had updated his account’s status to include the both of them in it, dubbing the two of them “the duo of doom” (roll credits). However, because of this feature, this site also would lead to the rise of the syndicate, the main antagonists of season 1. Speaking of…

• The Diamond Syndicate, or DiSy for short, is a massive conglomeration of assassins who all work under the same powerful leader. Using their riches and influence to coerce countless assassins into joining their ranks, DiSy has become a dangerous force to be reckoned with and does not take kindly to those who compete with them, especially for the same bounties.

• Instead of saying “what the hell,” the people in this universe will typically say something like “what in the Pit” since well… the Pit of Hate pretty much IS Hell to an extent.

OKAY

That’s all the headcanons and ideas I can think of for now, but I might still add onto this later on, so be sure to keep an eye on this post if you’re interested in how I write these characters and this universe in general.

Y’all have a good one!

[moaccyrk]

UPDATE 2

First of, an update on my family’s general well being:

I visited my mother and my auntie on the hospital yesterday. They went to a hospital that is the reference for treating burn victims in my city, and I saw that they’re making a nice recovery. Both of them are covered in body wraps and receiving the necessary medicine to heal and deal with the pain, but because the extent of their burns was different, they were put in different wings of the hospital.

My mother, who had more extensive burns through her body than her sister, was sent to a wing to treat more serious injuries and examine if her situation would get better or worse. From my talk with the doctor treating her at that time, they said her burns are healing nicely and she will soon be transferred to the same wing as my auntie, where both of them will be on the physiotherapy to gain back their movements and heal their bodies without worry, my auntie just got a headstart on that thanks to having less severe burns.

They’ll need to spend some weeks there, although it seems that my auntie might come back home sooner than my mother, who will probably spend a month or so more healing.

My grandma is still emotionally sensible, but the news about her daughters recovery seems to have helped calm down her nerves. Meanwhile, we’re also keeping an eye on my sister, who is prone to have panic attacks due to anxiety, but she seems to be doing relatively well so far.

My nieces are healthy, although the 1yo one gets some serious separation anxiety since the fire, which makes it difficult for my brother and his wife to help with things around the house (they can’t even go to the bathroom without the kid crying).

Me and my brother are trying to deal with the problems coming up, talking with relatives and friends of my mother and auntie to inform them about their health, and searching for substitutes of the stuff that burned down in the fire.

It’s too soon yet to see what medicine my mother and my auntie will need when they finally come home, but hopefully we’ll be able to afford whatever they will need in the following months.

Now an update on the state of the house:

We threw out most of the burned stuff so far, there’s still some left but we will soon get rid of it with the help of some neighbors.

We’ve previously bought a second hand oven for cheap to try to cook some stuff we managed to buy, but it turned out that it was broken and couldn’t be used without risking a second fire. This means that we’re relying on a small coal grill we have for cooking, it’s not very practical but it’ll do.

We’re still searching for someone to see what they can tell about the integrity of the wall that was near the fire, although even if it’s fine, we’ll probably need to buy material for renovating the kitchen space anyway.

The electrical wiring is still in the same state of the last update, by which I mean that it’s only working on half of the house, but the electrician we’re in contact with finally sent a list of materials we’ll need to buy to fix it in the entire house.

The bathroom is still partially burned, but it’s still working well enough for us to use it, even if part of the plumbing is burned, but it’s not anything that a couple of buckets filled with water can’t solve for now.

Thanks to everyone’s donations, our neighbors’ kindness and our relatives help, we’ve been able to afford food and water without too many problems, we’ve even manage to buy some pans, spoons and tupperwares to substitute the ones that had been destroyed in the fire.

And finally,

I really appreciate all the help people are giving to us, be the neighbors, our relatives and the many internet friends and strangers that have been donating money or sharing this post with everyone they can. It means a lot to my family that you’re all willing to help with this incredibly bad situation and I’ll be personally forever grateful for it.

I’ll keep donations open over my ko-fi, as well my commissions. If you can spare some money to help or share this post with whoever you can, my family and I will be forever grateful!

I hope you’re all loved, thank you ❤️

My house caught on fire.

There was a gas leak in the kitchen of my house and it caught fire, we lost all our kitchen stuff and some our living room got burned too. Thankfully our neighbors helped contain the fire, so most of the house is alright.

My mother, my auntie and my grandma got burned, my mom and my auntie went to the hospital, but my grandma was ok. We're still seeing if my mom and auntie will be ok, but it does not seems to be anything life threatening.

I don't know how much we need to help because I am writing this a couple hours later of the fact, but I'll leave donations open and leave commissions open indefinitely for a while if people prefer to go that way.

My family gives thanks in advance to any help you can give.

[re-lmayer]

please help a disabled abuse survivor (and her cats) move

hello everyone! i have exciting news! a dear friend wants me to move in with him! he said he’s sick of me being in a toxic environment where i’m abused due to ableism

so, i got the housing lined up! but... how do i get there? this would be a 400+ mile move for me. things are.... a lil’ expensive, especially right now. i need any help i can get to make this move go as smoothly as possible

click here to go to my gofundme

alternately, you can help me via paypal by avoiding gfm fees sending donations directly! i also have a wishlist of things for the move! every little bit helps!

thanks for much for reading! i don’t say this to try and guilt trip anyone, but likes don’t give much reach on this platform, so reblogs are helpful to get word out! i’d really appreciate reblogs!

some more info under the cut in case i need to change/update it in the future

as of april 4, 2022, we’re looking at late june 2022 as our timeframe 

because my dad has upped his abusive ante in front of several witnesses, our new goal is simply “as soon as possible”

i’m willing to answer questions about the circumstances and my disabilities, but please be respectful of my boundaries. my askbox should have anon enabled

you can also reach me on discord at stiffening#2180

my description on gofundme is... kinder than i’d phrase it here. i don’t want my abusers to have more ammo against me because it’s tied to my name. believe me i wish i could call a spade a spade there too

i have a housewarming wishlist too! it’s set up to send things to my new address. it’s mainly things i’ll need or that are practical in a new space, but there’s some fun and self care stuff on it too

for the sake of transparency (and for my own reference) i'm keeping track of moving costs

some cost breakdowns:

uhaul (i'd drive myself as cheapest option) + insurance: $550 quote 

movers to help (both loading and unloading): $350 quote

gas: $300 (based on an average of 4.50/gal, uhaul mpg, and using aaa calculator)

rooming for a night (it’s a long trip for me): $100

some meals while i'm traveling (2-5): $20-50 but hopefully less

rough goal total: $1,300 give or take 

as of 04/10/22 my dad has removed access to transportation, so i am relying on everything being delivered to me to prepare for this move. that is incredibly costly and already eating into funds. i genuinely don’t know what the ultimate goal is but i know as of now it’s nowhere near enough

estimates are slightly inflated so i don't come out under ;w;

[o-w-quinlan]

Digimon Ghost Game: Thoughts and Speculation

These last few days we’ve gotten enough information about the new Digimon anime that I feel comfortable going in-depth about my thoughts on it. Of course, since we’re still missing a description, or a trailer, or really anything beyond the name, the poster and the character design, all of this may end up wrong, but hey, the hype is its own enjoyment.

Thoughts

First thing noticeable about the trailer is that there’s only 3 main characters (plus their Digimon) this time around. Considering the ongoing problems of the Digimon Adventure 2020 writer team to give more than crumbs to their gigantic cast, going back to the trio teams of Tamers or Savers sounds like the right choice.

We also… don’t really see anything in the background. From most Digimon posters we can more or less guess if it’ll happen primarily on the Digital World or the Human one, but here it could be anything. The poses of the main characters are also different from what’s typical for a Digimon series. Often the posters have the characters ready to leap into action, or otherwise in awe of their fantastical surroundings. These three children… aren’t doing either. If anything, the main character (Hiro, apparently) looks slightly confused. The other two, Ruri and Seijiro, do look like they know what they’re doing (a return to Tamers and Savers with the protagonist being less experienced than his companions?), with Ruri sort of ignoring her surroundings to look at her phone and Seijiro in a very confident pose. The three Digimon behind them, on the other hand, are leaping into action. The way they are shadowed (when other promotional material has already revealed their appearances), as well as the “Ghosts? Holograms?” text in the poster, adds to their mysterious nature, which goes along well with the confusion on Hiro’s face.

Design-wise… I’m not a big fan. The Digimon themselves look a bit better in the promotional material than they did in the anime art we had of them, but Angoramon still looks bland, Gammamon looks sort of like V-mon in body shape and Hackmon in color scheme, and I understand both of those Digimon have a lot of fans but I’m not one of them. I really only like Jellymon, though she’s weirdly detailed for a Child Digimon. That said, I do like the diversity in designs these trio of Digimon have going for them. Gammamon is confirmed to be a Virus Digimon, so that’s the first protagonist Digimon to be a virus since Guilmon (further adding to the Tamers comparison).

The children though… I don’t think I’ve ever seen a group of Digimon protagonists that look this bland? Hiro is the worst of the three, with almost absolutely nothing memorable going for him except of course red and blue clothes mean he’s the protagonist. The sole unique feature he has is the small scar on his left ear, which hopefully means there’s some backstory behind it. The other two, while better, still don’t make much of an impression. Ruri is fine, but she looks more like a Juri than a Ruki, if you catch my drift. Side character design rather than main character design. I do like that she seems to be taking the “smart one” role in the cast, if her focusing on her phone (looking up information?) is any indication. As for Seijiro… I’ll always like characters that are confident in themselves, but he looks like a mix between Kiriha from Xros Wars and Knight from Appli Monsters with a lot less personality than either of those two.

I do like that we’re breaking tradition by having a male tamer be paired with a female-looking Digimon. The opposite has happened quite a few times before (and it’s happening again in this show with Ruri and Angoramon), but Seijiro and Jellymon are the first time this has happened in a Digimon anime, I think (at least outside of Xros Wars having its protagonists be partnered to literal armies of Digimon).

So, overall, I like the mystery vibe this poster has, but don’t really like most of the designs. From a wider perspective of the franchise, though, I do love that we’re getting non-Adventure animated material (seems like the commercial success of Adventure 2020 was used for Good), and that the new digivice toy, the Digivice V, is just a new edition of the Vital Bracelet, bodes very well for the increased synergy between products the franchise currently has.

Speculation

The whole mystery vibe here leads me to believe that at least the beginning parts of the series will have Hiro constantly question the nature of Digimon. I suspect we’ll see some light horror tropes used for his first few interactions with Digimon, like in Tamers where Takato’s first meeting with Guilmon had the young boy terrified. Ruri and Seijiro do look like they know what they’re doing, though, and given that the mystery would be over pretty soon if they explained things to Hiro, perhaps we’ll see a more delayed introduction to them, like in Appli Monsters.

As for the plot of the series, the name “Ghost Game” as well as how the G’s in the title vaguely look like pins on a map make me believe the series will have something like a treasure hunt, or perhaps that the children will be investigating “mysterious” events in search of something. I mean, Cyber Sleuth is one of the most popular Digimon games, and it wouldn’t be strange for the anime to take some inspiration from it (Appli Monsters already referenced it in its Agumon episode). With that said, I believe this series will spend at least its first arc (if not most of the series) in the human world.

The emphasis on ghosts here makes me believe it will lean into that “Digimon may or may not be the same as mythological creatures from the past” idea that Digimon Adventure 02 introduced, and that Digimon Survive will use (if it ever actually releases). The various links between mythology and Digimon that Cyber Sleuth used and the ambiguity of how related they actually were (or if it was all one giant coincidence) was one of my favorite parts of it, so here’s hoping something similar is done here.

The fact that the main Digivice of the series is a Vital Bracelet and that each protagonist Digimon has a DIM card dedicated to them makes me think we’ll see this series lean into branched evolutions. Adventure 2020 was already emphasizing this to a further extent than anything before it, so perhaps Ghost Games will take this even further beyond.

Conclusion

Despite having some problems with the designs of the characters, I’m very excited for this series. It’s literally the first time since the 1999-2002 heyday that we’re getting anime series back-to-back, and if that isn’t proof of how much success Digimon has gotten in the past few years, I don’t know what is. The increased synergy here with the virtual pets department, as well as the updates and changes in the Reference Book website that there’s been in the past year which only hardcore fans of the lore could possibly care about but for which all of us hardcore fans are very grateful, make me hope they’ve learnt from their mistake back in the early 2000’s where it seemed nothing in the franchise had anything to do with anything else. Here’s hoping the series has more emphasis on characterization than the current Adventure 2020, too, considering they can no longer rely on their audience knowing these characters from previous works.

Eagerly waiting for a trailer or an update of its website for further news.

[franniebanana]

CQL Rewatch - Ep15

I forgot this guy’s name, Yao or something? Honestly, I don’t care enough to research this, like, at all. I hate this guy. My friend and I now refer to him as the Hype Man, so I might just call him that from now on. But I wanted to say that I didn’t realize he was in it so early, so when I saw him, I was like, “That fucking guy!!” And I also totally missed that the point of Jiang Fengmian leaving was to take this worthless piece of trash somewhere. I wish he’d died haha. But then I guess there’d be less reason to hate him, and I enjoy hating him.

I can’t believe this is the first paragraph that people are going to see. If you’re reading this now, you’re like, why do I want to read this crap? And y’know what, I can’t blame you. The next few episodes are gonna be rough. I don’t even know if there will be much to say on my end. My friend, after watching these few episodes commented something like, “Huh, that really dragged.” I could only agree, pulling my hair out from the headache these few episodes were giving me.

Okay, but seriously, Yao is so pathetic here! Talking about how he never thought they’d end up like this, and, “Oh, we were just a small clan, woe is me!” It’s amazing that he turns into the biggest prick, always right there hyping up the scapegoat-blame game rhetoric. Sorry, I hate this fucker.

A rare nice moment from Madam Yu. It was sweet having her show a caring side, packing medicine for her husband, snacks for her daughter. But of course, it was because Jiang Yanli had come to say goodbye to her earlier. Jiang Cheng is really like his mother—they can’t do anything for kindness’s sake, there’s always an obligation to the kindness.

I hate Wang Lingjiao, but I love her, and I love hating her. I’m conflicted. She’s just such a fun, evil character, more fun than Xue Yang in my opinion, probably because she actual interacts with the main characters in the story. It will forever annoy me that Xue Yang gets so much attention for appearing in a long-ass flashback (via empathy) and what should have been a flashback (Chang Clan) but wasn’t because they wanted it to be padding, I guess.

Anyway, Wang Lingjiao. She’s fun, she goes completely nuts—what’s not to love about her? She’s also someone who is so similar to Madam Yu, but because she also is ambitious and wants to take over Lotus Pier, Madam Yu wants her dead. Haha!

While Madam Yu is, objectively, a horrible person, I actually really like how her bodyguards aren’t treated like servants. I like that there’s mutual respect there, as there should be when you’re talking about protecting someone. Unfortunately, I think Madam Yu treats them better than her own family in most cases. It’s cool that the Jiang Clan doesn’t rely on servants to get food and tea and whatnot. These are things that the disciples and leaders must do for themselves. By contrast, the Jins have so many servants—it’s almost obscene by comparison.

Also I want to point out how hot-headed Jiang Cheng gets here, while his mother is just cool as a cucumber. It really shows you how unready he is to actually lead (which she points out). He’s so emotional, quick to anger, yet he has none of the foundations to really lead a group of people. Even when the disciples are explaining to them what happened to the kid and the kite, it’s Wei Wuxian who is keeping everyone calm and asking the questions.

I love that his first reaction here is to insult Wang Lingjiao’s intelligence. We’re basically getting a parallel to how he reacts to Wen Chao, which is fun because you can see how his behavior hasn’t changed at all. He uses his wit in both situations and is easily able to outwit both Wen Chao and Wang Lingjiao. What’s kind of interesting is that Jiang Cheng will speak up now when he wouldn’t before. And I wonder is it because he is guilty for being silent earlier with Wen Chao, or is it something else? I think ultimately Jiang Cheng blames Jin Xizuan, Lan Wangji, and Wei Wuxian for what happens to his parents and to Lotus Pier. Even though, logically, it would have been destroyed anyway, he still wants to place the blame on someone who he can reach. All this is to say, I don’t think Jiang Cheng regrets not speaking up at the Wen Indoctrination. So I think he feels superiority over Wang Lingjiao really because he thinks she’s a stupid woman. And duh, she is not that clever. But she is smart enough to be able to use what talents she has to get ahead. She apparently is favored over Wen Chao’s own wife (who knew he was even married—not me lol), and you have to be ambitious and have some smarts to get that far. That’s not to say that Jiang Cheng wouldn’t treat a man this way too—I think he would. I think he picks and chooses who he’ll stand up to. He’s on his own turf, she’s an invader, she’s a woman—she only brought a few henchmen, right? He’s also been charged with watching over Lotus Pier in his father’s absence. Maybe he just wants to look big for once. Just a thought. Take it or leave it.

So, I think Madam Yu is enjoying this. She’s getting two things she wants: the Wens are going to leave and she gets to beat the shit out of Wei Wuxian. She doesn’t even have to be prodded to punish him, right? She barely waits until Wang Lingjiao has finished speaking. This has something she’s wanted to do for a long time. I think she’s hit him before, yes? But she can go all out right now, since Jiang Fengmian, his only real protector, is gone.

Also Jiang Cheng! Man, he’s torn apart! He hates to see this happening to Wei Wuxian—yes, he blames him for all that shit, but he doesn’t want to see this happen to him. It’s actually harder to watch Jiang Cheng in all of this than Wei Wuxian, who mostly remains as stoic as he could possibly be while she’s whipping the shit out of him. And again here, we get Wei Wuxian telling Jiang Cheng not to interfere, because the last thing he wants is for Jiang Cheng to be penalized too. He’s fine receiving this punishment because it’s a “better me than him” kind of a thing. It’s harder to watch someone else suffer than to suffer ourselves, right? I’m like that, idk if you readers are, but I think a lot of people are like that. I mean, I’ve always been that way, but it’s been amplified since I became a parent. And not only is he accepting of being whipped by Zidian, he’s ready to lose his fucking right hand. The hand that he wields a sword with. His dominant hand. He is ready to lose it with absolutely no fuss. That’s how much Wei Wuxian cares about Lotus Pier. His response is, “I’ll have to learn how to use my left hand.” It’s a passing line, a line when you can’t even see his face—but do you get how big that is? Jiang Cheng is up there losing his mind, completely emotional, crying, yelling at his mother to stop—Wei Wuxian is just silently gritting his teeth and taking it. They’re both brave (I would not want to stand up to Madam Yu), but different kinds of brave, y’know?

I do love this part. I’m not gonna lie. Seeing Madam Yu slap Wang Lingjiao around is something that’s deeply, deeply satisfying. I guess it’s just nice to see Madam Yu’s anger turned towards an actual villain, since up until this point, it’s been directly mainly at Wei Wuxian and her own husband. I think this part is forever tainted if you know how the story goes, because Madam Yu is just on fire! But if you’ve seen this series before, which hopefully you have (otherwise spoilers abound), you know it doesn’t end well for her. I like this plot device here, making you think that the good guys are going to come out on top, and then reversing it so quickly as soon as the Core-Melting Hand shows up. One minute, you’re cheering, the next, you’re…not.

I also want to point out how quickly things reverse here as well. Jiang Cheng is trying to protect and comfort Wei Wuxian throughout this whole scene, which is something we’re definitely not used to seeing. This has always (and I mean always) been more of Lan Wangji’s thing. But in kind of a nice twist of fate, we actually see Jiang Cheng caring for Wei Wuxian. But then, boy, do things change! We see a complete reversal of this behavior—first Wei Wuxian has to be there for Jiang Cheng’s emotional state, and then his physical one. And the man does not complain about it at all.

I want to say that I didn’t cry in my first watch of CQL until episode 50. That is 100% the truth, so help me God. However, when I watched this scene in the donghua, I cried like a little bitch. Cried probably isn’t the right word—how about sobbed. I sobbed. I think because I knew it was coming when I watched CQL, it didn’t really affect me (plus my husband was right there, not paying attention, but still on the couch with me, so I tend to not cry as much when he’s around. I like to cry on my own, okay?). Having said that, the second time I saw this scene, I fucking cried, and I really didn’t stop until after they told Jiang Yanli, because that sweetheart crying makes me cry, okay? I have a really hard time watching things about children and parents, because I always think about my own parents and my own kid, so it just makes me really emotional. The idea of never seeing your parents again, especially in such a traumatic situation, at the age of what—17? That’s something I can’t even begin to imagine. In a word, horrific. Traumatic isn’t even a strong enough word to describe the emotional and mental turmoil that a teenager would be going through. But I can probably ramble about that later.

And my heart breaks for Wei Wuxian here too. Even though she hated him, even though she treated him so poorly, I’m sure he still thought of her as something akin to a mother. She was the only mother figure he had in his life who was still living, so there was definitely an attachment there (and this is proven later). Even being acknowledged by her here must mean something to him. She may hate him, but she trusts him to keep her children safe and to protect them. It’s honestly so sad.

Ugh, this is hard to watch. As a mother, the idea of sending your kid adrift when you know you’ll probably never see them again is so heartbreaking. The connection you have with your children is something that no other relationship can match, whether you physically bore your children or not. They are a part of you. Like, let’s be real, raising children is difficult—they can test your patience, make you angry, make you sad and hurt (toddlers don’t care about you, yeah, I said it)—but you love them in spite of it all. And for me, I can never really hate Madam Yu. I can find her attitude and treatment of certain individuals deplorable, but at the end of the day, she loved her children. Was she a good mom? No, probably not. But I don’t think Jiang Fengmian was a good dad either (although I think he tried a bit harder). But I think she loved A-Cheng and A-Li, and I think she trusted Wei Wuxian to protect them. I think she gave him that shred of respect at the end.

In case you’re wondering, I fucking cried through to the end of this episode. I mean, Jesus, Yanli just gets immediately thrown into another boat and tied up with her brothers, after finding out that her mother might be dead already, and then her dad abandons them too. I just can’t.

I’m sorry this was short (maybe I’m not sorry, depending on how much you like the episode). I’m going to try and knock out more than one episode per week because I just don’t have a lot to say. These are mainly getting through the plot episodes, if you know what I mean.

Other episodes: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |

[its-sixxers]

Duty

Martin fears for his future. Little snippet of pre-relationship Hero of Kvatch x Martin, some time after the Blood of the Divines but before Miscarcand.

“I’m yet to step foot within the Imperial City, and already they’re seeking a bride for me.”

Martin sighed and rubbed at his eyes. Hours of poring over crumbling scrolls and books written in dying tongues had been interrupted by a very different kind of reading material - that afternoon Jauffre had set a parchment of his own upon Martin’s desk. A list of suitable imperial consorts. After years spent in the priesthood, a wife was far from his mind.

The Hero of Kvatch, Vaka, leaned against one of the ironwood columns holding up the roof of Cloud Ruler Temple’s great hall. She’d become a pillar herself, in Martin’s view - a constant fixed point, a figure of strength to rely on. A friend. Her expression was neutral as ever. “Seeing firsthand what a lack of Septim blood on the throne does to the world, I can see why they’re so eager.” A humorless smirk cracked her stony exterior. “Not to say I don’t enjoy having a job.”

His shoulders slumped. “You’re right. I see the necessity of it - I’m no stranger to duty. Still…”

“It’s too soon. I agree.” She had little understanding of the machinations of the nobility - even less so than Martin, which was saying something - but her agreement soothed him. At least he wasn’t alone. “You’re the emperor. Can’t you tell them to hold off until you’re on the throne, at least?”

“Would that I could. As you said - the world’s falling to pieces. I suppose Ocato wants some heirs to rely on as soon as possible.” Martin returned her humorless smile. “We men must seem fragile to mer. I’m not a young man anymore.”

Vaka scoffed. “You’re not an old man, either.” She pushed away from the pillar and sauntered over to the desk. He felt her strong hands grip the back of his chair, and saw her braid swing over her shoulder as she leaned over him to peer at the slip of parchment herself. “Well. Let’s see what poor women have been offered up to the executioner’s block. Anyone we know?”

“My true title has been kept secret, they think they’re marrying a minor noble.” Martin warned. “Don’t expect any Altmer noblewomen. There’s the daughter of a Redguard merchant lord, some Breton ladies-”

“Countess Carvain.” Vaka interrupted him, finding the name on the list he was avoiding. “Clever choice. Young, independent - and your best bet at pleasing my homeland, short of finding some jarl’s daughters - and I don’t see any of them on Jauffre’s list.”

“You wouldn’t happen to be a jarl’s daughter, would you?” Martin asked hopefully - Vaka kept her past close to her chest, and it’d be wondrous providence if she happened to have noble blood running through her veins. Most of his options were strangers - Countess Carvain was the best on the list, he’d liked her the few times they’d met - but he dearly wished to at least be a friend of whoever he was expected to spend the rest of his life with.

She scoffed again, and while he couldn’t see her face Martin knew she wore a scowl judging by her tone. “Don’t joke about that. I’m a criminal who’s good at killing things. I’d make a poor bride.”

Martin disagreed. “You’re the Hero of Kvatch. That has to count for something.”

“Very well, I’m a wanderer who’s good at killing things.” Vaka corrected herself. “I’m sorry, but you’re well and truly on your own.” Martin’s chair creaked as she released her grip on it, circling to the front of his desk to look him in the eye. “Countess Carvain’s your best bet, I’d say. You nobles -” Martin would never get used to being referred to as such. “- don’t need love in your marriages. She’s independent enough not to care, I think - she’s unmarried for a reason. Can’t say I blame her. And she’s intelligent. You can talk about books while you make your heirs.”

Martin’s look of horror made her laugh, a great, booming sound - he knew of Nord legends of the Voice, and wondered if someone in her bloodline ever possessed it. Always he could hear her in the halls, conversing with one of the many Blades. She’d be a great commander of the battlefield, if she ever had the taste for it - but Vaka was ever one for isolation. For the first time he realized that if he was to ascend the throne, their evening conversations would be no more. It made his chest hurt. 

“I’m glad you’re having fun, at least.” he muttered, turning his attention back to the list of names. “You suppose the Countess would agree to the offer.”

“You’re more alike than you think. You’d leave her alone, she’d be free to research Akavir to her heart’s content, and you’d have a brood of imperial children with very large heads. She’s run County Bruma well, the people like her - she’d make a good empress.” Vaka rested her hand on his desk, and for what wasn’t the first time Martin marveled at how such a warrior had such elegant fingers, even crossed with silver scars. She offered him a genuine smile - a rarity. “In any case - you have to live long enough to be crowned first. Perhaps the Mythic Dawn will do you a favor.”

“The world gets to perish while I avoid a wedding.” His complaints did sound silly, when she put it that way. “You’re right. I’m being selfish.”

Something in her eyes softened, and she placed her hand over his. “You’re not. You didn’t ask for any of this, but you’ve risen to your duty anyways. It’s brave.”

“You’re the brave one, entering Oblivion itself while I sit here. Would that I could come with you.”

Vaka hastily removed her hand from his, and he wondered if he’d said something wrong. Her hollow smile returned - perhaps the subject of Oblivion was one she didn’t want to dwell on. Martin could only imagine the horror within - he’d seen enough of the horror without.

“I’d face a thousand daedra over the Elder Council.” she said with a shake of her head. Once more, she tugged her hood over her hair - announcing it was time for her to depart. “I should see if the local hunters have sighted any more gates since I was here last.”

Gates seemed to erupt from the ground with ever-increasing frequency. Martin could still recall the scent of sulfur and burned flesh, the screams of terror and roars of Daedra, and wished there was a way he could spare her from it. “It’s likely they have.” he murmured. 

She dipped her head in farewell, footsteps quiet despite her height as she walked down the length of the Great Hall. As she opened one of the large doors and a rush of cold air entered the hall, he called out.

“Vaka?”

Her face was shrouded by her hood as she looked back at him, cloak already fluttering from the wind outside.

“It’s venison stew for dinner tonight.” Martin offered lamely - the meal was her favorite, and he hoped it’d tempt her to return to Cloud Ruler Temple for the night before throwing herself back into the fray.

She only nodded. 

--

Vaka did not return for dinner.

Martin nudged the chunks of meat in the bowl with his spoon, appetite gone despite the aroma of spices and promised warmth of the meal. Any other night without her he’d quietly eat his dinner and return to his studies, but he couldn’t help but eavesdrop on a conversation at the nearby table.

“Where’s the Hero of Kvatch?” asked Belisarius, one of the younger Blades at the temple. “She only got in this morning.”

Achille, sitting across from Belisarius, leaned in and dropped his voice low. “Jena says she saw her at that pool a few leagues north of here when she was on patrol. Crying. I think the pressure’s getting to her. Can’t blame her, I don’t think she’s ever taken a break.”

Martin’s stomach twisted, and he didn’t know if it was from lack of food or from the implication that Vaka felt the need to do her weeping alone.

“Crying?” Belisarius said, too loud, and was hushed by Achille. He dropped his voice as well. “I don’t believe it. I don’t think she’s even capable of crying.”

He wanted to stand up and correct them, to tell them that appearances were deceiving - to maybe ensure that they would have some appreciation for what she did for them all - but Baurus approached the men’s table and did Martin’s job for him. “Her heart beats like any of ours. I don’t blame her from wanting to express herself in private, given you two turn into gossipy hens the second you hear anything.”

The two men looked suitably sheepish. “Still -” Achille continued. “- I wonder why.”

“Why don’t you ask her?” Baurus asked with a raised brow. 

“Then he’ll be crying.” Belisarius snickered.

Baurus sighed - and for a moment he caught Martin’s eye. There was a crease in his brow, and Martin realized he was being looked on with sympathy.

That ache in his chest returned. Martin stood, leaving his food untouched.

“Sire?” Baurus asked.

“I’m feeling a tad ill - nothing to worry about, I’m certain I’ll be fine in the morning.” Martin replied, doing his best to bat away any offers for an escort. Before the others could say any more, he departed - walking as fast as he could excuse through the hallways of the temple. His footsteps were all he could hear, and he was glad for it. He breathed a sigh of relief upon arriving at the door to his quarters at last.

Cyrus was on guard duty. “Good evening, sire. You’re here early.” He seemed happy at the event, at least - more than once he’d scolded Martin for retiring so late.

“I am.” he replied, and left it at that - sliding open the door to his chambers just wide enough for him to slip inside, and shutting it with haste behind him. Privacy in the temple was a rare thing, and he dearly longed for it.

Standing in the luxury of the imperial chambers, he felt small. Martin approached the window and gazed out of it at the highlands beyond, resting his hands on the wooden sill. It was worn - how many rulers before him had stood as he had, looking out at a landscape that shone even at night, the moon reflected off the blanket of snow on the ground?

Vaka was out there, somewhere in the cold. He wondered if that was where she would be, when all was said and done - when he was locked away on the throne. Martin refused to let her become a mere footnote in history, but he couldn’t imagine her ever leaving the wilds she so loved. Even for him.

If, as she had said, they lived through it all.

Martin’s grip tensed on the windowsill. How many emperors before him wondered for the safety of one they cared for, and feared for the future?

Perhaps the Emperor - his father, he corrected himself - had felt the same as he did. Had cared for a woman who had no hope of acceptance by the council or nobility. Perhaps it was the reason Martin himself existed.

He hadn’t been joking when he asked Vaka if she was a jarl’s daughter.

Still, he couldn’t bring a bastard into the world - and he would, if she ever returned his feelings. Even if that small ember of hope in his chest burned true, duty demanded otherwise of him.

It was a hope he’d have to smother.

The landscape beyond the window blurred, his vision clouded with tears. Martin let them fall.

Like her, he did his weeping alone.

[theonetheycallhannah]

The Treatment of Capt. Syverson-Chapter One: Evaluation

Pairing: Captain “Sy” Syverson x OFC (Shane Benton)

Shane Benton gets a new patient, veteran “Sy” Syverson. He’s one of the most complex cases she’s had, in more ways than one. She thinks he’s already starting to like her and what’s worse...she feels the same.

Word Count: 2.3k

Warnings: None, really, mentions of war and trauma and some hate on the Chicago Cubs, but like…it’s not MEAN! (I’m a Missouri girl, and for the purposes of this fic, Sy is a Missouri boy, and we will bleed for our sports teams. Lol!)

A/N: Inspired by this post right here, and hopefully turning into some splendid fluffy and smutty stuff for my lovely Cavillry babes all around including the two that essentially forced me into this. Lol! (I’m thinking I’ll have at least three or four more chapters.

Disclaimer: Unfortunately for me, Henry is not mine, le sigh, and all mention of him, his characters, or his precious doggy, Kal, are strictly for transformative and recreational use. I neither ask for, nor accept payment for the work I post on Tumblr or AO3.

Tags: @onlyhenrys @cavillryarchive

Let me know if you wish to be added to the list! I’m happy to do it! 

Shane was working on her morning's notes as she scarfed down her lunch. So many hand's-on patients made for a busy so called "lunch hour." Time which their boss was always reminded them was only half for their personal use, and could be taken away if census demanded. She was pretty sure it wasn't legal to make such threats, but thankfully, the secretaries usually had the therapists backs.

As she typed, she got a notification in her messenger app.

Just a head's up, your 1:30 is such a major babe I could barely look at him while I checked him in, so good luck with that.

Heather, one of her best friends in the office, had warned her, as she always did when there was a potential problem with a patient.

Oh, and his KOOS score is 27.5! Yikes! Shit, she'd seen arthritic grandparents with better scores on that test, which essentially rated your ability with the affected knee. Ideal was 100. She pulled up his chart review to see what she was getting herself into with this guy.

Tricare insurance, so, a vet. And only a year older than she was, so, recent discharge, or even active duty. She pulled up his order…shit. Traumatic tear of the anterior cruciate ligament. With damage to the medial collateral ligament as well. And a patellar dislocation. Repairs had been done, but this guy was in bad shape. He was going to be coming a while.

She replied to Heather.

Damn, that's bad. I'm looking at his order, and I'm already thinking I'm gonna want to try to keep him on my schedule if we can. And three times a week. If not with me, Jordan, if he's got openings. Can you start working on that when you have time?

Sure thing…I think you'll be glad you kept him on your caseload once you get a look at his face…and like all of him. Even on crutches, he's tall as shit!

Heather, come on. I'm a professional. I have a doctorate ffs. Lol

You also have a uterus, to the best of my knowledge, and it's about to explode. Promise.

Haha, okay. I'll be out for Prince Charming in about ten. Lemme pop a breath mint and run a brush through my hair.

Good call.

Shane did just that, but still pulled her dark hair back into her customary functional high ponytail, made sure there was no stray food on her shirt, and headed out of her treatment room for her patient.

As she walked down the hall to the waiting area to get him, she noticed a slumped and bearded figure leaning forward on a set of crutches, a KC Chiefs baseball cap slipping up off of his forehead revealing short cropped dark hair. She smiled at his repping one of her home teams, and stepped up to him, greeting him warmly, but formally.

"Mr. Syverson?"

"Ma'am." he said, as he adjusted his cap and stood immediately at attention, still relying on the crutches, but making himself as tall as possible. He really was a soldier. Despite her proximity to Fort Leonard Wood here in St. Robert, Missouri, she didn't see many military men.

"Hi, My name is Shane. I'm a physical therapist. I'm going to be working with you today."

"Oh, okay. They told me my therapists name was Shane, I figured…"

"Yeah, I get that a lot. Don't worry, I act like one of the guys. You'll hardly notice."

"I doubt that." he muttered, but she ignored it. She didn't know which would be worse. Him being a macho chauvinist who couldn't deal with a female therapist, or having a crush on her and making things weird. She'd had both. And it never ended well for her.

"Well, let's go have a chat in the treatment room."

They walked toward the room she'd just left, and when they arrived, she asked him to set on her plinth mat.

"Could you please verify your date of birth for me? Gotta make sure I got the right patient in here."

"May the 5th, 1983."

"Thanks, and the last four of your social?"

He told her, quietly, and against her will, a shiver ran up her spine at the softness the bear of a man exhibited in his voice when trying to maintain privacy. But she kept her composure.

"Excellent." she began typing her eval note, and asking him questions. He began telling the harrowing story of the mission, the mission that effectively ended his career in the military as he knew it. At lest, what he could tell her. Obviously some of it was classified, but certain details she would need to know in order to know how he it and how to treat him. She could tell he was trying to hold it together. Reliving the trauma was probably triggering to an extent. Her heart went out for the broad-chested, blue-eyed man.

"God, that's incredible. The fact that you're alive is amazing, Mr. Syverson."

"I go by Sy, ma'am. And as aware as I am of that, it's tough to feel good about it when some friends in my squad weren't so lucky." he examined the pattern on the tile floor as he rubbed the heel of his hand against the wide thigh of his injured leg. A nervous habit, she presumed. She had similar quirks.

"That must be difficult for you." she knew she was getting off-track from what she needed for her SOAP note, but after all, he was going to be on her caseload exclusively for the foreseeable future. She'd have time to flesh out the goals and basically finish the eval next visit.

"Yeah, but I know there's a lotta guys' got it worse'n me, ma'am."  

"We think that should make it better, but it never does. And if I'm calling you 'Sy,' you have to cut the ma'am business. It's Shane, even to my patients." she smiled.

"Sorry, m--sorry. Habits die hard."

"Just like John McClean." she chuckled, not expecting him to get her ridiculous movie humor. But he laughed.

"Did you just make a Die Hard reference?" he smiled, and the sunshine of it paired with the stunning blue of his eyes nearly sent her flying into the wall. Thankfully, she had something to occupy her gaze in the form of her laptop, where she tried to document on him.

"Did you just get one of my movie references? Because nobody around here appreciates that I'm a total movie nerd. I'm wasted on these people."

"Ya know, maybe you're right about feeling like I'm getting PT from a guy." he chuckled.

"I told ya!" she laughed, but tried not to let her heart sink too far.

The evaluation continued with her doing strength and range of motion measurements on his knee. "Okay, push against my hand…now resist when I push…now bring your foot back against my hand…and resist when I pull." she did this with both sides to compare relative strength. "Great job. Okay, I'm going to see how much range you have in your knee. Lay back on the table for me, please." she thought she saw a flirty glint in his eye, but again, she ignored it. She had a job to do. And it was to hold this goniometer up to his knee and see how many degrees of flexion and extension this man had in the joint while trying not to think any salacious thoughts about the thigh connected to it.

"Okay, now, listen, Sy, I know it goes against your instinct, but I'm looking for pain-free range of motion, here, so don't be a hero. Don't move it farther than you can without hurting it. And let me know if it starts to hurt when I move it."

"Yes, ma'am." he winked.

"I'll let that one slide, I guess." she giggled. She concentrated on the numbers she was getting from the big protractor, and typing them into her eval, and not the man lying before her.

"Okay, I'm gonna get the other knee now to compare for goals."

He nodded.

"Were you pretty active before this happened?" she was more or less making small talk, as she could tell by the condition of the rest of his body that he was incredibly fit.

"Yes, m--yes, I was. We had a gym on base, nothin' like what y'all have here, just some machines and a few free weights."

"No bikes or treadmills or anything?" She herself liked the elliptical, but knew it was a considered more of a girl's machine in the gym world.

"Nah, with electric being spotty where we were stationed, we sorta had to…get creative, I guess you could say, for cardio." she let it slide, apparently there was an inside joke to which she wasn't privy.

"Right, understandable. Well, here, we don't have to get that creative. I'm gonna put you on some equipment gradually, and just warm up the knee, then get to work on joint mobilization and myofascial release. But at this point in Dr. Potter's protocol, he only wants gentle stretching and weight bearing as tolerated. We can start a bit of strengthening after next week."

"So, you think I'll be back to running anytime soon?"

"We can make that a goal, Sy, because I can absolutely get you there. But you're going to have to take it slow. You've got not one, but three major injuries we have to contend with, and there is major trauma in there. But it will heal. With time and effort. And like I said, don't be a hero. The number one rule of therapy is 'if it hurts, don't do it.'"

"I'll hold you to that, m--Shane."

"You're a quick study, Sy. I think you'll be alright. Looks like Heather's put some appointments in for you already. If any of them don't work, call us, and we'll try to get them swapped. I'd like to keep you on my schedule as much as possible, but if there's a conflict in your schedule, any of our therapists will be terrific. And I'll make sure they're looking at your chart and protocol thoroughly before seeing you."

"Sounds like a plan to me."

"Okay, I'm gonna print out your schedule for you, and a few exercise handouts I'd like you to work on, especially on days you don't come here. And I'll know if you don't do them, because you won't have improved…so, you better do them."

"Yes, ma'am." she half expected a salute. She rolled her eyes.

"Okay, maybe I'll give you three strikes on the ma'am thing."

"Baseball fan, too?"

"Not that three strikes is so obscure that I'd have to be to know it, but, yes! Major St. Louis Cardinals fan."

"I knew I was gonna like you from the start. Although, being brought up 'round Kansas City m'self, I'm more of a Royals fan."

"Hey, only time I don't root for KC is when they're playing my Redbirds. And even if my team loses to them, it hurts less than if they lose to, say…the Cubs." they shared a scowl of disdain for the Chicago team. "Although, I was happy for them and their fans when they won the series back in 16."

"Yeah, I guess we could afford to let them win one in a hundred years…I'm hoping their next one comes long after I'm in the ground." he chuckled.

"Can't have them getting a big head, can we?"

"Nope! Sure can't!" they both laughed at their mutual interest in dissing rival sports teams.

"Okay, I'll be right back with those handouts." she ran to the office all in one machine to grab the papers she'd printed for him, making sure they were all his and not another patient's. She put them in one of their folders and headed back to her room where he sat on the mat, waiting for her with a smile under his rather impressive beard.

"Before I let you out of here, what questions can I answer for you about what we did today?"

"Oh, uh, nothing comes to mind. You explained everything really well. Did you look at my schedule? Am I with you all the time?"

"Hmm, let's see here, looks like the next two, yes, but I'm off next week, so Heather put you with Jordan, which is what I asked her to do. You two will work great together and he's got a great instinct for injuries like this. And I'll talk to him before I leave. He's one of the best PTAs I've ever worked with, I promise."

"I guess, if you have to take a vacation. I'll see you next time though."

"I'm looking forward to it. That's when the real work will begin, Sy. And our number is on in this paperwork if you have questions, and I've put my card in here, too." they shook hands, and he grabbed the folder from her.

She saw him out of the room and into the lobby. She'd finished with him a bit early, but her next one was already waiting. She needed a break. To collect herself. To breathe.

"Jason! Hey! Go on and get on the recumbent bike, level two. Ride until I get there. We'll get a lot done today if you're already warmed up. I've got a note to finish. And then I'll be in. I should be 15 or less."

While the 19 year old with a torn meniscus hopped to her instructions, she went back to her computer to attempt to finish Sy's eval and pretend that she didn't already have a serious and intense crush on him. This was going to be a long twelve weeks…at least.

Up Next: Chapter Two-Therapeutic Procedure

[alexandenigtscreations]

Chapters: 1/2 Fandom: The Penumbra Podcast Summary:

What if Juno didn't have time to heal properly from the soul incident before he and Ransom went on their first mission in the Aurinko crime family?

__________________

“I recommend we turn our walk into a run.” Nureyev said, not daring to look at the scene Miss Nova Zolotova was making.  “A very fast run, Go!”  and gave a gentle shove to the small of Juno’s back as they broke into a sprint, Juno hitching up the golden skirt as they fled.  His footsteps fell farther and farther behind, glancing back Nureyev saw his face twisted into a grimace “Quickly now Detective!” he called.

“I’d like to see you run in 6 inch heal-ahh!” he stumbled and Nureyev grasped his elbow to keep him upright at the very least.  He’d have to have a chat with Buddy about practical footwear later.  Hopefully. 

The security was closing in fast, one of them even throwing a flashy prop blaster at their retreating backs; the shot went wide.  It was no matter.  There was their ride up ahead, hovering just over the precipice of the floating mansion.  He’d rarely been so glad to see a car.

“When I say jump-”

“What are you crazy?! I’m not gonna-”

“Jump!” 

The pair dove into the transport’s open door, Nureyev never loosening his hold on a screaming Juno’s arm as they fell into a heap in the back seat.  

“Hello.” said Jet “please fasten your seatbelts.”

“A little busy- at the moment.” Nureyev disentangled an arm to pull the door shut.  “For now, might I suggest we make our getaway.”  Several drones shot out of crevices.  While the security inside had to meet aesthetic requirements, there were no such restrictions on the outer team.

“I’m merely pointing out that our escape may be bumpy.” said Jet, nonetheless plugging their route on the controls. Doing a complicated maneuver to avoid a hasty trap.  Juno hissed as the pair were jostled about, clinging to Nureyev in a peculiar fashion “The security is different from the schematics Buddy provided.” Jet grunted, pulling hard on the steering console.  

“They updated the security system at 2 a.m.” Nureyev supplied, throwing out a hand to brace against the car’s side.  

“2 a.m.?  A last minute security switch then.”

“Quite, not the most organized affair, but a switch nonetheless.” It was Juno that found that out, Juno that had saved his overly cocky self from being caught by the cameras.  He was still rattled from the whole affair.  

The lady in question was unusually quiet, the quietest he’d been all evening.  Huddling into Nureyev’s side where he’d landed; a hand wrapped around his middle, breath coming in fast and shallow.  Nureyev was reminded of Juno's less than favorable reaction to their joy ride in the Ruby 7.  Was this his motion sickness?  or- something else- concern welled up in his chest.

“Juno?” he asked softly, struggling into an upright position moving the other with him “You didn’t get hurt, did you?” 

“Wha?  No- it’s juss-'' he pushed away and leaned over “hard for a lady to catch his breath in a get up like this.  Besides'' he winced, reaching into the folds of the skirt “landed on something kind of hard.” and produced the Gilded Globe of Reaches Far with a weak smile, that made Nureyev’s nerves flutter.  The golden circuitry and intricately carved gems glinting in the faint light of the floating mansion.  Nearly losing it after a sharp maneuver from Jet.

“Might I suggest you put that away until we are back in the carte blanche?”  

Once back, they were informed to make a showing for the family meeting to debrief the others on the mission.  Juno disappeared to change, hobbling into the meeting room a half hour later looking morose. 

“So kind of you to make it darling. I was just about to send Jet after you.” Buddy greeted.  

“That dress is a nightmare to get out of.” he shot back.  

“Yes, well, if you need help, all you have to do is ask.  Ransom,” Juno made a funny sort of cough “has just been telling us the details.  It worked for the best this time, but for future reference, when you have an account filled with fake credits, best not draw too much attention to it.”

Juno sighed, collapsing into a seat.  Something seemed to be weighing on the detective, something other than the disaster of a mission the pair had endured.  Nureyev kept glancing over, noting the way Juno sat hunched over on himself, the tired way he recanted the mission, the way he tore their performance to shreds.  They had finally started to work as a team near the end, but before then- well, they both had a lot to say about the faults in their plans.  The only thing Buddy scolded them for was failing to keep her in the loop, and chastising Nureyev for not relying more on Juno.  

They had successfully retrieved the globe but it did not feel like a victory.  

Later, after the debriefing and a private word with Buddy, Juno came to his room to talk.  Well, Juno talked, a long winded apology Nureyev barely managed to listen to as his mind whirred with the information Buddy left him.

“Point is I’m jus- sorry.”  he stopped, eye over bright and wide in anticipation.  

Nureyev couldn’t think of what to say, it was clearly his turn, as it were, clearly the time to speak, but….

“Juno-” his voice came out soft and strained.  

The other man stood unsteadily “I-I’m too late aren't I, damn it, I- I should leave-” 

Nureyev swallowed, catching Juno’s hand in his “Not too late, Juno, not too late at all.” he gave a short humorless laugh “In fact, I can’t think of anyone I would want to stay with more than you.”  

Relief washed over Juno’s face as he pulled away.  “Hell, don’ tell me that’s it!”  He started to laugh, there was something off about it though, “You know how s-scared I was of-of this?  Of us?  Of- ahhh-'' he doubled over clutching his stomach for the second time that day.  

Nureyev dashed to his side “Juno?  Juno what’s wrong?” He grasped his shoulders trying to get him to look him in the eye.  They sank to the floor, Nureyev pulling him close like he had done in Miasma’s compound.  

That’s when he realized what was so off putting about the situation, Juno was in pain, serious pain and had been for quite some time.  Only he’d been too caught up in his own stupid thoughts to notice it before.  Just like the mission.  

The last instance he saw Juno this bad off was during Miasma's experiments in an old Martian Tomb.  

“Juno!”

“N-Nothin- jus feelin a bit woozy-”

“Woozy?” Nureyev pulled him closer, ghosting a hand down his side and- there was something damp there, sticky even.  

“Yeah, being swept off your feet has that effect on a la-ahh!” he curled tighter into his chest, like he did in the car, breathing far too hard.  “Don’ touch.”  Nureyev wasn’t paying attention now, thoroughly distracted by the russet smear cross his fingers.

“Juno you’re bleeding.”  His mind reeled.  Juno had been hurt, but when- how?  Why hadn’t he said anything.  

“Oh yeah, what do you know?  Thanks for the update.”

“Let me have a look.”

“N-no, it’s fine.”  He struggled to push himself upright, “shouldn’t be here.”

“Oh don’t be such a baby.” he pushed Juno back gently so he was resting against the dresser.  Juno let him, leaning his head back and closing his eye in exhaustion.  Lifting his shirt elicited a soft “ohhh-” from the thief.  

He was covered in injuries that couldn’t be more than a few weeks old, judging by the angry red and pink of the lacerations.  The corset couldn’t have been doing his healing process any favors.  Some of the wounds had opened, and Juno had placed large Band-Aids over the top.  Those would need tending to, but the one that was most concerning was one where a bandage was wrapped around his lower ribcage, blood dying the once pristine fabric a deep red.  

“May of had a lil’ more f-fun than anticipated today-”  

“Juno, what happened?” Nureyev cupped his face, gently stroking a thumb over Juno’s cheek bone.  He felt hot to the touch.  It only added to the concern.  

“Stupid really- I hit some space junk- and-” he paused, pulling in air “it hit back.” 

“Space junk-? Never mind that, why didn’t you tell us?”

“I did-”

“What? When?”

“At the meeting family thing.  Wasn’t- feelin my best-”

Nureyev thought back to the family meeting hours ago, he hadn’t been paying attention.  He remembered Juno supporting his resume and spilling his coffee moments after a defiant declaration to Buddy he could drink it.  The situation had been comical at the time, but he remembered how his hands had shook-  Same when he tripped on the carpet to the galla.  

Juno was many things, but he wasn’t a novice to heals or an elegant gown, his performance on the dance floor spoke to his skill.  His impatience to end the auction, and the way he’d bulled him over when he tried taking the globe prematurely.  The way his face had twisted, and how tightly he squeezed Nureyev-  Was that what had done it?  Or was it when they escaped to the transport-   

The truth was, Nureyev hadn’t been paying attention.  He didn’t pay attention and Juno was hurting because of it.

“Wasn’t feeling your best?  Juno, these are serious injuries.”

“N-not anymore-” Juno sighed “And we needed- the map- the Cure Mother-” he drew in another ragged breath “It could do a lot of pe-eople a lot a good.” 

Fear coiled in Nureyev’s gut as he thought of the words Buddy had said to him mear hours before ‘We are not legends- legends are dead things-’

How many times had Juno almost become a legend himself?  How many times had he tried to sacrifice himself for the greater good? 

“I’m going to get Vespa.”

“N-no!” Juno gasped, grabbing hold of the other’s wrist “Nureyev, please- I- I don’t want her to see me- right now.  Don’t need it-”

“Detective, you need more than I can give you.”

“It’ll stop- soon-” he was almost pleading “please, jus’ stay.” 

Nureyev looked at Juno Steel for a good long moment- he loved this man- it was a simple truth that he’d tried to run from- even going so far as to let him walk away on those soft feet in the dead of the night all that time ago-

He could live without Juno Steel- but it was getting harder and harder to understand why he’d wanted too.  

“Oh- have it your way Detective.  But you’re going to let me patch you up at the very least; I will not have you bleeding out on my watch.”

Juno gave an exhausted, wicked grin “Thanks Toots.” 

Nureyev relieved Juno of his soaked shirt and unwounded the bandage; careful as to not interfere with the clotting blood to reveal a truly evil wound.  A jagged V carved into the side of his ribcage, deviating into the vulnerable flesh of his stomach; half-healed bruises blotching his skin.  It wasn’t hard to believe Juno lost a fight with space junk.  The stitching had torn apart, none too neatly either.  

It wasn’t wise to stitch him up again, best let the doctor do the proper patching.  But, maybe, he could hold it off till morning.

He cleaned it best he could, Juno occasionally letting out little piteous sounds as he worked.  It was intimate, he could feel every stuttering breath under his long fingers, every twitch and tensed muscle.  He had him like this before, under more enjoyable circumstances, delighting in the honesty that played across his face-  But now- there were only gasps of pain and watery smiles.  Worry settled heavily in his chest, he’d just gotten him back, and now this-

Fresh gauze packed tight and back the bandage went.  Juno’s feverish head resting in the crock of Nureyev’s neck as he wound it tightly around.  He was given a fresh bed shirt, the largest one Nureyev had packed.  Juno was more muscular than he was, smaller in stature but broader of shoulder.  He was lucky to find anything to fit him at all.

“Okay, to bed love.” and pressed a kiss into his curls, marveling at how easy the term of endearment slipped from his lips.  “You’ve got a doctor’s appointment in the morning.” 

“I- don’ want too-” Juno whined, but placidly allowed Nureyev to maneuver him to the mattress.  He curled on his good side, laying his head in the hollow point of Nureyev’s arm.  

Nureyev found himself hoping that this time, he would stay.  

In the morning- he’d see Juno treated and that would be that.  He ran his fingers along his back in a soothing fashion and fell asleep to his lady’s gentle breath.  

 It was that same breath that woke Nureyev some odd hours later-

[katapunberbicara]

The year of sadness

This is me, discussing about the issue that hopefully you could relate to. Guess that it’s been a long time since the last time I wrote in long pharagraph. Eh, seems that it is not that long since months ago, specifically in January I wrote about the things that I’ve learnt during 2020. The type of mandatory post every year in the reflection of what happened in one year to ensure that I would surpass the upcoming year. However, this time I don’t refer the year of sadness with 2020 eventhough it really was. You would find it soon what I mean with that year.

At this early page of my adulthood’s series, I have admitted that sometimes we could be fragile, vulnerable, and weak. All those feelings are validated. But it doesn’t mean you are less capable at handling your problems. Moreover in the process of being mature, there is certain moment when you feel so down. At the rock bottom, rather than trying to act strong, we could look for something to rely on. And this is what I always do, sharing my personal issue with only to a few peer-groups whom I have special emotional attachment with because they are more trustful than the elderly. Moreover, we are in the same generation whom could share the typical humor code, feelings, and certain languages only we knew.

Back then, my younger of me had struggled to look for somebody she could talk deeply since she was kind of deep thinker. She was afraid that no one was ready to accept that side of her so that she ended bottling up her feelings. But now she has found them whom are precious to her and since then she has been totally honest with them. They are my support group who have cheered me, had my back, and given all their ears. The one I have counted on in my darkest time. When having conversation with them, I don’t always get my solution solved but I have found the slightest light at the end of the hurt road. Then, it’s become my habitual activity to reach them whenever my day is uneasy to be through. There is a saying that said “the more you are connected with people, the happier you will feel.”

It feels good at the beginning, but ever since I found out that relying on them so much, or human in general isn’t the best option for your solution. Giving too much yourself on someone who is not responsible for tackling your problems isn’t wiseful. That might either weight them or take your independency. Moreover, someday they may leave you whether by their choice or not. Whenever it happened, my heart was hurtful and disappointed. It might be my own problems to be a soft-hearted people that is so touchy and sensitive with emotions involved. I choose to see the best in people and probably expect them to be always good, caring, and loving. I want them to be the one I want to be. But, there are times they are cold, thoughtless, and hard to approach. There is no wrong about that, as you are in the downs they could be also at their worst. At that moment, they may leave you to cope up with their problems at the first before coming to you. It is not them who hurt me, but my own expectancy. 

Only with praying to God Almighty I would never be disappointed (Q.S. Maryam: 4)

I cannot imagine how deep the sadness of the noble prophet Muhammad SAW had endured when losing his precious one. He had been tested with the loss of his wife and his uncle at the same year which had known as ‘the year of sadness.’ His beloved wife was the one whom at first wiped his tears and offered hug to comfort his wounded heart. And his uncle was the one who gave him his back, his protection, and guaranteed his safety when the world was so cruel againts him. Without the two of them, the world was falling apart. It was really tough when the place you felt home suddenly was not there anymore. You didn’t know where to unpack the burdens that weighted your shoulders. People say that eventhough the world is so mean, but having companion by side is the greatest pleasure to reassure. It was also written in the lyrics You make me by Day6, “being alive is scary and tough, but I can push through as long as I have your love.”

And only can heal the sadness was the wonderful journey called Isra’ Mi’raj from the God Almighty. The fruits from his patience so he would accept the grief with relief.

We are pieces of puzzle wanting to be completed. We are the book waiting to be finished. We are the glass wanting to be filled. We are drought island waiting the heavy rain. And due to that weakness, we need holding on to something stronger than we are. But how if those things are weaker than us? We are not eternal, so we look for the eternity that is steadily and constantly always by our side. But we cannot find the attribute into human being. They are human just like you, who have not completed yet and have been in the same journey of being wholeness. There is time they may leave you in metaphorical way, or literally leave you in a literal way. I cannot imagine in the same position with the noble prophet Muhammad, even my call being rejected could hurt my feelings. That time, my mind at peace when knowing whenever the world throws its back from me, God never leaves me. No one can you entrust your problem as much as to Him.

All the time He takes care of you during the days and night, and He’s never tired of it all. (Q.S. Al Baqarah: 255)

I’d want to say to my wondrous supportive group ever, I would not put my expectation on you, so that my mind at peace. But I must admit that sometimes I really miss you, and the world is too quiet without you nearby. Can I call you sometimes?

Pekanbaru, 28th April 2021 | ©Hairatunnisa

[ianworthy]

Israel vs Palestine

What is really happening? And the bloody solution…

First off, I'm from a small town on the other side of the planet so I don't have any kind of agenda.  If you want that B.S. there's lots of options.  I realized more than ever over the last year that we are being lied to and manipulated on the daily, which led me down many rabbit holes. I've been "re-educating" myself and started writing in an effort to make some sense of the craziness.

History made shorter…

We should start around when the Ottoman Empire ended for some context, which was in the early 1920s in case you slept through History.  If you rely on the ‘news’ you'd think this started a couple of weeks ago.  Reality, if you go back far enough no one "owned" anyone, nor the land they occupied or any of the land you’re on right now. Humanity and its entire existence has involved one tribe/country trying to annihilate the other.   It never works out, but here we are 200000 years later, give or take 194000 years, depending on whether your belief in Science transcends beyond vaccines and masks.  In case you didn't catch that I’m referring to the 6000 year timeline outlined in the Bible.  Breaking this down to the core revolves around religion used to create unnecessary animosity, so a relatively small proportion of a population can benefit.  Isn't that every war ever?

After the Ottoman collapse, the land that's in dispute aka Israel and Palestine was given to the British.  Interesting fact, if you look at all the atrocities and wars currently going on in the world, they are all countries that were "occupied" some way or another by the British or to a lesser extent, the French.  Aren't we all curious for Harry's hot take on how he's the product of ruthless colonization of his great grandparents that its impact on global society is ever present? These former colonies are humanitarian disasters enslaved by whichever military coup at the time provides corporations with the most resources.  But hey, as long as the Old B of England got the right biscuits to accompany her afternoon Tea that's all that matters, right?        

When the British, or most powerful Army at the time called the shots, there was a movement referred to as Zionism that began to gain support from the Jewish people throughout Europe.  Zionism basically means the nationalist movement to create a state for the Jews, not the jam by Damien Marley, which is my first exposure to the word Zion.  I'm sure this rise was foreshadowing of what was to come.  Not to get all conspiracy theory on you but none other than the Rothschilds (wealthiest family in history that created the global money supply that are apparently no longer wealthy) created a proposal that involved divvying up the land for a state in the future, which was after the war.  Google the ‘Balfour Declaration’ if you don't believe me.  From that point the amount of land occupied by the Palestinians has steadily decreased, according to the last map I checked it was looking pretty bleak.  The land was divided not because they are physiologically different but because one group of parents parents parents were raised to believe in Abraham and the other a linkage to Abraham.

Up to the current point… 

I'm sure that Jared Kusher's involvement in recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and the Trump peace plan of supplying the middle east with more missiles played a supporting role, but more current, Ramadan.  The Israelis like all of the World Leaders during the last year have been flexing too much during the lockdowns of COVID, which carried over to yet another Ramadan and evicted some families for further settlements.  In addition to the evictions the Israelis broke up a Mosque gathering on Eid, Antifa style.  Eid for Muslims is like Christmas for Christians, but instead of getting toys and gifts from Jesus swap, Santa Claus, you get to eat during daylight after a month of starving yourself.  This Mosque is Islam's third holiest site, conveniently Jerusalem is Judaism and Christianity holiest site as well, coincidence?  To relate, for Christians, if Jerusalem is the holiest, and the Vatican is the Second then probably a Church like Notre Dame would be third, or up there at least.  I feel that the MSM coverage of the Notre Dame burning was little different than the burning of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. 

In retaliation to the Israeli raids, Hamas, the awful military leadership of Palestine launched missiles that had no real threat of reaching their target, being shot down half way by the Rafael Advanced Defense System (Iron Dome) that the US taxpayer supplied batteries for under Obama.  In response to a “potential” desert storm attack from Palestine a bunch of USA made Lockheed Martin F-16s equipped with M61 Vulcans and Raytheon AIM-9 Sidewinder heat-seeking missiles launched an Airstrike killing a bunch of innocent civilians, including kids.  According to the death toll I just looked at, it was 241 dead Palestinians, including 5 top Hamas commanders, the media and a bunch of kids to 12 Israelis, no executives, consultants, shareholders or politicians were killed.               

The Solution Is…

Two solid states, and no longer decreasing the amount of land occupied by the Palestinians and increasing of Jewish settlements.  Palestinians and Jews both have the right to a home.  With the help of the greedy boomers (worst leadership class in history) and the media making the next couple of generations hate each other, the rift is super deep.  Every war is sustained by the industrial military complex.  Lockheed Martin Raptors or Raytheon Heat Seeking Missiles do not magically appear in the Israeli Air Force.  The corporations that run the United States are in the business of making money at all costs, in this case innocent lives mostly Palestinians.  Humans need to stop providing the means to commit such acts of horror.     

It also seems pretty convenient that Benjamin Netanyahu was recently unable to form a new government and is facing criminal corruption charges.  Party leaders are always guilty of something, it’s just a matter of if they follow the most profitable line or not.  He's obviously not the right person to run Israel, taking it in the extreme right position that’s trendy right now in politics.  Extreme either way is no solution to anything, and the sooner Netanyahu goes the better.  His father was an Ivy League Professor active in the Zionist movement, who's father was also a Zionists.  Point here is people that grow up entitled with an unwavering ideology and no life experience make for horrible leaders.  That applies to a lot of world "leaders", even the countries that don't have nonsensical inbred Royals in charge.  Any peaceful long-term resolution involves leadership that recognizes that Jews and Palestinians have a right to a home.  There also needs to be more fair coverage.  I guess it doesn't help that the people running Sony Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox, Lionsgate, Universal, NBC, The New York Times, The Tribune, Discovery, CNN, Google and Facebook are all Jewish.  In Palestine, the Israeli Air Force blew up one of the main media buildings that housed Al Jazeera News and the Associated Press.  No press or opinion vs all the colluding press and opinions. 

As for Hamas, or any of these military coups that emerge are the result of instability and no leadership for its people, present more of a challenge.  Israel can and hopefully soon, will function just fine with new leadership.  My entire adult life, the Industrial Military Complex has been at war with the Middle East.  The defense contractors that have been defending America from an “evasion” always seem to find some action. It's purely about Oil(Money) and strategic power, but we can leave that for another time. From the West perspective Hamas is a terrorist organization, which they are, but if you're living in Palestine having dinner with your family and a Raytheon heat seeker comes through the window and blows up your family into pieces. Wouldn’t that be a terrorist act? In order to have any kind of sustainable solutions the counties and corporations that pillage these places killing innocent people need to find a way to structure these de facto coups into a legit military that can serve as a National Army. At the end of the day these kids are just fighting for what they think or are forced to think is right. Given the option, and right identity, kids can redirect their frustration and hatred towards a national unity that respects and values its citizens. Not that I have much faith in non-secular rule, but I think as a starting point a country that can be run more or less by its people is better than this apartheid situation that’s going on now.

The ceasefire has been called, which is the necessary short-term solution, however not going to change much going forward.  This game is being played with a zero-sum, and I think that they were premeditated targets that were going to be fired at some point in the future regardless of what the spark was. My position at the end of the day is that a handful of countries produce all the weapons used to blow everyone up, so it should start at the source and those who benefit the most.  Which obviously isn't the everyday people of Palestine or Israel. The upside, with the media fighting for relevance the corporate narrative is being challenged.  We just haven't figured out the right way. I have some thoughts, subscribe or follow please.

[itspileofgoodthings]

Writing asks: 10, 19, 24 :)

10. How would you describe your writing process?

Oh man. When I had/have time for writing - like this past summer! - my process was picking an hour in either the morning or afternoon, starting with a really basic scene idea, limiting my distractions and then just putting words on the page in an effort to flesh out the scene. But overall and right now especially --and this is going to sound like a cop-out I’m sorry --the only process for writing I can have is accepting that I can’t have one? Accepting that at this stage of my life and career I just do not have the time or energy to write on a regular basis. I cannot teach full-time in this Covid year and also write. It just. I can’t do it. But. That doesn’t mean I want to stop having a writing journey? If that makes sense? 

So--- again this is so abstract I’m sorry ---- but I’m trying to practice patience and excitement and the habit of looking forward and trusting that I’m not running out of time to do this project at some point. Because all personal anxieties about suddenly dying or the world suddenly ending or the apocalypse suddenly arriving ASIDE, why do I think I’m running out of time? What is this anxiety that this project has to be done right now?? Or in the next year? It’s nothing. It’s foolishness.

So right now the way I’ve been slowly moving forward is scheduling times when I can work on one specific aspect of the project and then letting myself be excited and hopeful about it. 

For example, right now I am looking forward to filling out Jacob’s initial filing for divorce with @ihaveonlymydreams who is going to do it with me sometime soon. A lot of plot pieces are going to fall into place from this I am sure! (And I’m SO EXCITED TO DO IT WITH HER. AHHHHHH. 

My tl,dr; version. My writing process heavily involves other people. 

19. Is there something you always find yourself repeating in your writing? (favourite verb, something you describe ‘too often’, trope you can’t get enough of?)

THIS IS SUCH A GOOD AND EMBARRASSING QUESTION. As I said the other day I love using the word “flares” in reference to emotions. I’m a big fan of noting the color of the sky. Characters are always holding hands in my writing, taking each other’s hands etc. Romantically but also platonically. It happens so much. Also OBSESSED WITH THE WORD SUDDENLY AND THINGS HAPPENING SUDDENLY. (Ben Wyatt voice: it’s about the moments.) I’m sure there are so many more I’m not even aware of yet.

24. Would you say your writing has changed over time?

My fiction writing is still in its first iteration so I have no answer for that! It barely exists so it hasn’t had any time to change. 

But my non-fiction writing, my essay writing, has changed so much because I’ve done it so much. I used to be simultaneously more and less long-winded. And by that I mean I used to take a lot longer to get to a point but I also SAID LESS. I’ve learned (hopefully) how to make every word count and make sure I’m not wasting words or phrases. And when I do that I find that my thinking can stretch and I can include so many more nuances and points and corners to my writing! I still get on tumblr and endlessly ramble (like now) (this is just me writing exactly like I talk! hi! you can basically pretend you’re in the room with me!!) but when I’m doing writing that’s one step up from this, even if it’s just answering a fandom ask or writing a meta I’ve gotten better at being more concise and impactful in my language.

 I’ve also gotten far less sentimental! I used to use metaphors and language that were more obviously emotional and I’ve learned to be more restrained and more understated and not settle for sentimental fluff rhetoric. I’m still overflowing with emotion and I still use emotion in my writing. But I’ve tried to find the purer, better versions of the cliches I used to rely on. 

tl,dr: I’ve learned how to edit my non-fiction writing and not be afraid of the process. 

fiction writing? i cannot edit yet. can’t even make myself look at it again haha. but i’ll get there. 

[artemis-entreri]

[[ Sculptor: MD Dragons

I commissioned this awesome piece of art from MD Dragons/Maga in October 2019. In less than a month, she’d finished it, and sent me pictures for approval. I was astounded by the quality -- I already knew she does great work as I’d been following her for some time, in fact I’d originally planned to commission her for an Artemis and Jarlaxle sculpture back in 2017 after seeing her Drizzt and Artemis sculpture for a different client. Unfortunately, I couldn’t decide on the commission details back then, so I ended up relinquished my slot.

Although it was totally serendipitous, I’m glad that I waited, because the improvement in her skill really shows. Maga’s work has always been impressive. Her sculptures are almost always made entirely from different colored clay, with no usage of paint. Her attention to detail is nothing short of superb. Yet, what I received now I believe has greater, finer and more details than what she would’ve made me two years ago.

Maga makes several different styles of sculptures. I think dragons are definitely her specialty, with how each of their scales are individually sculpted and carefully put into place. As this piece shows, she’s no less adept with humanoid subjects. I ordered my commission in what she calls the “big nose chibi” style. She worked from both reference images and descriptions. For Artemis’ outfit, I provided Todd Lockwood’s paintings, but for Artemis’ weapons and Jarlaxle Maga had to rely primarily on text descriptions. The information I gave her for Charon’s Claw was a direct quote from the novel’s text. For Jarlaxle, I did show her the Waterdeep: Dragon Heist official art of him, but I wanted him to look like how he does in the novels, with his high-cut vest that shows off his abdomen and his rainbow cloak. I did want his fancy Dragon Heist rapier however, but since that, just as Artemis’ dagger, lacked specific description, I left them to Maga’s artistic interpretation. I actually left a lot to her artistic interpretation, and she blew me away, even noticing aspects that I hadn’t noticed of Artemis, a character whom I am extremely particular about. 

Without further ado, here are some closer looks at this masterpiece.

While Jarlaxle’s cloak doesn’t contain all the colors of the rainbow in a gaudy way, Maga went with iridescent clay to achieve a classy effect that’s still true to the concept of a cloak with shifting multi-hues.

It’s a bit hard to see Charon Claw’s pelvis-shaped crosspiece here, but the way the two little skeletal legs curves down the pommel is visible.

The dagger bears a characteristic emerald. Blurry in the background can be seen the black blood trough that runs down the middle of Claw. Also note Artemis’ lips; the scowl is more than a simple line drawn through the clay, there is just enough shape to his mouth to accentuate the expression. 

I normally depict Artemis with two belts running down along his cuirass, but I don’t mind Maga’s interpretation because of the sheer amount of detail on his body. I don’t even miss Artemis’ unique triangular belt buckles as depicted by Lockwood because of how much else is going on here. There’s so much life to it too, with how the ends of the belt curves off and away from his body.

I should point out here that Artemis’ stubble is entirely sculpted on as well. At first, I thought it was painted on, but no, it’s actually a very fine layer of gray clay sculpted onto his face. 

What’s also really neat is that Maga gave Artemis and Jarlaxle different head/face shapes. Artemis has a more square jaw, while Jarlaxle’s is slimmer. 

I can’t imagine how long it must’ve taken to shape and place each stand of Artemis’ hair. Note also the vanes of Jarlaxle’s feather and the texture on the flap of his hat. 

For the background, all I’d requested was “city setting”. It was entirely Maga’s decision to do the barrel, the wheel, the shattered crates and the spilled fruit.

The environment really adds to the dynamism of the piece, as though the two figures were caught in an unexpected confrontation in the streets of a busy medieval-esque city. In other words, perfect to the setting.   

Another cool feature is that Jarlaxle’s boots are shiny, while Artemis’ are not.

There was only one thing that I’d asked Maga to change, namely, her rendition of Artemis’ earrings. Originally, she had him with only earrings on his left ear and in silver.

I asked her to add another pair of earrings to Artemis’ right ear and to change the original ones to gold. That was the only bit of paint that I’m aware of, as the sculpture was already baked and removing the silver ones risked damaging Artemis’ ear. It took her less than a day to make the change, and then the sculpture was on its way to me.

Unfortunately, due to the timing of the shipment, the parcel spent more time in transit than it would’ve normally, and as a result of being subjected to shipping longer, it arrived like this:

Ouch, talk about a bad breakup! >_>

Thankfully, Maga was there to provide support. She gave me detailed instructions to repair the damage, even offering for me to ship it back to her to fix if I wasn’t satisfied with the results. I didn’t think it was really feasible to ship it back as I didn’t want more breakages to happen, so I did my best to repair it. Unfortunately, due to the compromised structural integrity to Jarlaxle’s body from his head falling off, his entire collar broke off as I was trying to glue back the pieces. That was delicate work, but it was nothing compared to trying to glue back the tip of one of Artemis’ hair spikes. My hand just couldn’t stop shaking as I was holding the tiny point in place, and once again I was awed by how Maga had apparently done this but many many more times to shape Artemis’ hair.

All’s well that ends well though, and the chibis are ready for combat once more. I even ordered a display case for them, but...

Hopefully the new one will come in soon. >_> ]]

[robert-c]

Gun Control

When I wrote “The Right to Bear Arms” (https://robert-c.tumblr.com/post/611144969512796160/the-right-to-bear-arms)  I certainly expected some people to disagree, even vehemently. Their rantings were predictable; irrelevant and personally insulting. For example, I’m supposedly a “panty-waist leftist” who doesn’t own a gun. This is really funny to me, because I own three guns. I assume the other reference is supposed to mean gay, which I’m not, but a lot of my friends have been and I volunteered in the gay community during the height of the AIDS epidemic, so we’ll let you have a half point on that one (though wearing panties has never been my thing, no judgment, just not for me). Now whatever ‘leftist’ means today I don’t think being in favor of responsible gun control qualifies for the whole “agenda”.

In my first article I pointed out that the Constitution’s language actually makes clear that regulation of this right is tied to not banning gun ownership outright. I suggested that considering the times and the purpose of the amendment proficiency testing (at a minimum) would certainly be right in line with the amendment. Just to keep the facts straight – only those states with concealed carry permits require such training, and only if you wish to carry your gun around with you in public; not for the buying of one, which is where some of the problem starts.

The myth that the Second Amendment was some sort of “last resort” against tyranny was also taught to me in high school civics back in the 1960’s (by football coaches because it was such an important topic <yes, that’s sarcasm>). In my other post I illustrated how that simply doesn’t comply with the language in the Constitution. Not only in the regulation referred to in the Second Amendment, but also in the main body of the Constitution – Article III, Section 3 –“Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort.” Taking up arms against the government of the United States would seem to qualify as treason to most reasonable people.

So let’s talk more about gun control. Those opposed seem to go right to the conspiracy idea that any step to eliminate free and easy access to virtually any weapon is a step toward removing all weapons. Even if that were true, that is not the issue “on the table” in the current debates. And if (or when) such a proposal ever shows up it can be opposed then; and such opposition would be supported by quite a few gun control advocates.

In the meantime, why is it a problem to do a background check on someone to ensure that they are not a convicted felon (prohibited by law from owning a gun) or a mentally unstable person? While it is true that some stable person with no criminal record might buy a gun and later become unstable, I don’t see that as the major problem with gun violence. Nor do I see any way I could support that could avoid that situation. One can only hope that those close to someone who changes in such a way could alert others and authorities.

Waiting periods seem to be principally a problem for the hothead who wants a gun “right now!” because they intend to use it on someone “right now!” Let’s be realistic, hunting seasons are known well in advance, if you have gone until now without a personal home protection weapon it’s hard to see how a little more time will make much difference. Likewise, if you just think it would be good to take up shooting targets as a recreation. There just aren’t a lot of good reasons why you would need to buy a gun and take delivery the same moment you pay for it.

Limitations on the sorts of weapons that can be owned brings us right into the scariest heart of the matter. Where the line is reasonably drawn may be a matter for some debate, but hopefully every rational person would agree that a line is necessary. Should my neighbor be allowed to possess chemical, biological or nuclear weapons? How about Hellfire missiles? Flame throwers? Hand grenades?

And then the most damning of all – why should any of these restrictions be suspended just because the guns are sold at a “gun show” or “swap meet”? This goes beyond being a loophole – it’s a damn chasm which effectively eliminates any other hard won controls that were put in place.

Now we must confront what meaning the Second Amendment has in the 21st century. It has been well over 100 years since the United States relied on the militia model to defend itself or keep the peace. In an age of modern warfare part-time citizen armies equipped with their own weapons is worse than laughable. For hunting or target sport any fully automatic weapon seems unnecessary and in fact detrimental to the stated objectives. (As comedienne Brett Butler once said, ‘If it takes you 600 rounds per minute to bring down Bambi, hunting may not be your sport.’) Likewise for home defense, unless you are planning on holding off a mob, in which case the police and maybe even the National Guard should be involved.

So here we enter the murky territory of “doomsday” prep. While some individual scenarios for “doomsday” seem far-fetched, I agree that our world has entirely too much dependence on every part of the manufacturing, transportation and distribution systems working perfectly, as well as other aspects of daily living. That is a recipe for disaster of one sort or another. A single massive failure in one sector quickly spreads to all others. In such scenarios law and order can quickly break down and the police and even the National Guard could soon be overwhelmed by civil violence, and ensuing anarchy. Add the polarized political environment and you have a situation ripe for civil war on a neighborhood by neighborhood basis.

Which brings us to the “militia” movement – in an armed uprising against the government I don’t think they could win. But exploiting some other breakdown of authority might be just the edge a group with a huge stockpile of weapons could use to effectively takeover large areas. Many of these people are far right wingers whose appreciation for the subtleties of rights under the Constitution is shall we say “questionable” – starting with their persistent misreading of the Second Amendment. Read their racist blogs. Look into their idea of what the Constitution means and discover that very few of us will have any rights whatsoever if they are in charge.

Perhaps they are concerned about having their guns taken away because they know that if the rest of us realized what their ultimate aims are, we’d feel compelled to do that to protect our own and everyone else’s liberties. Perhaps there are some militias that are not “poster children” for Fascist rule, but I am sure that private armies dictating their view of the Constitution was not in the minds of the Founders of our republic.

To be clear, I don’t want to ban all weapons in the hands of the public, but I do think that registration, restrictions on who, what kind and how many are more than reasonable and within the bounds of the Constitution. My opposition to a complete ban on gun ownership isn’t just Constitutional. We have plenty of examples of how prohibition fails disastrously and with unintended consequences – e.g. alcohol in the 1920s and 1930s, and the present day with drugs.

I think gun control is and ought to be primarily about keeping guns out of the hands of people who represent a danger to others. I’m not talking about ‘profiling’ or guessing that they will commit a crime based on their political beliefs (unless they are advocating violent overthrow of the government). I think criminal history and some health history should be enough. However, none of it makes any difference until we can shut down the ridiculous “loophole” of the gun show.

One of the most factually baseless claims made by gun “rights” lobbies is the presumed extra protection from lone gunmen shooting up schools or businesses. The argument goes that if “everyone” were carrying a weapon then when some crazy comes on campus, or into the office to kill people they can be taken out by any one of the many people legitimately armed to protect themselves. It has all of the right ingredients for something that seems reasonable. Except that numerous training exercises and a few unfortunate real life experiences prove that in such scenarios more innocent civilians are killed by “friendly fire” than by the perpetrator. This is why police forces train in special courses to learn to quickly identify what is a real target and what is an innocent bystander. It isn’t easy and it goes against the natural biological reaction to narrow one’s focus instead of broadening it to see a larger picture.  This justification for arming a significant portion of the populace is another example of simplistic thinking about solutions to the gun violence problem. Perhaps it comes from watching too much TV where it is easy to identify the bad guys and “lucky shots” are common. Another way to know this idea is bad? When people start saying things like “shooters would think twice if they knew others were armed.” That suggests you know how these shooters think, or that you assume they think just like you; but you wouldn’t be doing this in the first place. The world is not a simple place and inside the mind of someone who shoots up a school or business is even less clear.

We need to call out the ridiculous opposition to gun control every time they misrepresent a control measure as an attempt to remove all guns. Diverting the conversation is a crude tactic for those who fear facing the actual questions. Hold them to the issue, don’t get drawn into a false debate, keep coming back to the question at hand – Why do you think it’s OK for someone with a history of violence to run out and buy a gun on the spur of the moment? Why do you think it is OK for someone to circumvent every gun control law by simply buying or selling a gun at a ‘gun show’?

Reasonable gun control will NOT cure all gun violence, it is not a problem that has a complete and simple solution, once and for all. But it could certainly help, and there is no good reason not to put into place reasonable controls.

[theexceptionaleccentric]

TUA Coffee Shop AU!!! (except there is no Coffee Shop just a Bar) [Part I]

Let’s do another Umbrella Academy headcanon because I don’t want to revise for exams and this is the perfect way to procrastinate!

Just so you know, in this headcanon the kids have no powers and are just normal, everyday kids and they technically aren’t kids (they are teenagers/young adults), but I still intend to refer to them as kids, because they are just so adorable. 

Also - this AU contains some ships, to be precise: Luther/Alison and Five/Vanya and I guess, you could find Klaus/Ben if you really wanted to. However, for controversy’s sake and because I honestly don’t feel like dealing with people telling me what a gross thing my wicked mind came up with or something similarly silly, you can rest assured that they are not actually siblings in this AU. So we all good? I hope we all good.

Also, I’ve never done this, but I feel like I should just to be safe here, so:

Trigger Warning! 

This headcanon talks about child abuse, drug abuse, psychological abuse and domestic violence. None of this is talked about explicitly, but it is mentioned and I understand it can be upsetting to some people. And let’s be honest - it would be difficult to do Normal-Kids AU and keep the characters the same if they didn’t have their trauma.

With that out of the way, let’s proceed to the actual headcanon!

Firstly, all the kids go to the same high school. Luther, Diego and Alison are the oldest and are about to finish their final year and go on to uni. Klaus and Vanya just turned 17, Vanya is one year behind the trio, but Klaus is technically in the same year as them and about to graduate early. Ben is 16 but in the same programme for gifted students as Klaus. Five is the youngest, just 15, but is too smart for his age, also in the special programme, and is going to graduate next year (so technically the same year as Vanya). If it’s confusing, then don’t worry. It will hopefully become clearer as you read on.

Now I should start explaining who actually is related to whom. Five (although in this AU he has an actual name - Quentin, I was thinking Fievel for a bit, but Quentin just sounds more like Five) and Luther are brothers (it is canon in the comics and I found it a fun idea) and their father is Reginald Hargreeves. Luther is older and is finishing high-school, Five is younger than him (he is 15 in this AU), but he is in a programme for gifted students and therefore just one year bellow Luther. 

Problem is, both brothers are currently in a difficult position. Their father was an abusive bastard (because that is the Reginald we know and love) who had been tormenting their mother (Dolores, because in the show she is someone Five actually cares deeply for) their whole life. Their mom took the burn of the physical abuse and did her best to shield the children, so they “only” had to put up with the verbal and psychological abuse. Reginald obviously preferred Luther, the golden boy, the sport-prodigy and the son that never defied him or acted against him. He spoiled Luther rotten and gave him everything he wanted. The younger, quieter, much smarter and much less docile Quentin was a thorn in Reginald’s side. The boy was happy to stand up to him and argue whenever he felt like their father was being unfair to their soft-spoken and loving mother. That behaviour started at a young age. Reginald rarely got him anything, Quentin was used to taking care of himself (he got into the gifted class with his own efforts, because he wanted to have a better chance of snatching a scholarship and stop relying on his father for anything at all). 

It was only when Reginald raised his cane against Quentin in a fit of rage that their mother couldn’t stand it anymore. She decided to take her boys and leave. However, because she was a housewife most of her life, she had little money and not many prospects. The only place she was able to afford at such short notice was a tiny flat with two bedrooms in a dodgy part of town. This flat is in a small building, above a bar that also serves as a night club on weekends (they only hire DJs for three nights in the week). Luther was baffled and furious with everything. He was so sheltered from the horrors happening in their house that he considered their father to be “stern”, but not cruel. He didn’t know about half of the abuse their mom went through (partially because he learnt to turn a blind eye, partially because she did her best not to tarnish the image Luther had of his father, she knew he adored Reginald). He mostly wanted for things to go back to the way they were - with his parents together and his father buying him everything. 

Quentin, on the other hand, was delighted that they finally left. He was not happy with the living situation they ended up in, but he was determined to cope. Anything, anything at all, was better than staying with their father. He was ready to find a job to help mom support them (she had a long road ahead: she was divorcing one of the wealthiest people in the world while fighting for the custody of her children, the court expenses were likely to skyrocket), but Dolores was against the idea. She wanted her children to have a good childhood and didn’t want to burden them. That’s why Quentin decided that he would find a secret job. There must have been a way to juggle work, family and school and he was determined to find it. He ends up as a semi-unofficial bartender at the night club downstairs.

Speaking of the bar there were three important women working there; Eudora and Alison Patch (yes, in this AU they are sisters) and Vanya White. Eudora is the oldest, currently training to become a police officer, just like her father. She works at the nearby bar to earn some pocket money (the bar is actually a pretty safe and quiet place except for the weekends). Alison is the star of their high school theatre club and wants to become an actress, she is going to turn 18 soon, but her dad does not allow her to work at the bar all by herself. She only goes there to help Eudora every now and then and they split the payment when she does. She is also good friends with Vanya (both Patch sisters think about her more like a little sister than anything else) and likes to hang out around the bar when it’s Vanya’s shift just to chat with her. 

Vanya is Klaus’ twin sister. They both come from an abusive household, but the social services took them away from their father a while ago. After the death of their mother, their father started locking the kids up in cupboards or under the stairs like Harry Potter. He would also humiliate and degrade them whenever he could and sometimes beat Klaus up to “fix” his “unnatural” ways. Eventually, Vanya couldn’t stand it and called the cops after their father almost killed Klaus and broke her hand when she attempted to help. Now the kids live in foster care, which isn’t great, but they manage. They don’t live with the best guardians, but they both figured that neglect is better than negative attention from your parental figure, so they do their best to be as invisible as possible. 

Klaus is a really clever kid, but his mind tends to get a little too loud and cluttered and the time with their father left him pretty messed up. He developed claustrophobia and proper PTSD. The few sessions of counselling he got after the police locked their father up were not enough to help him and so he turned to addictive substances to chase “the voices” away. Even though he is undoubtedly outlandish, his brain is still brilliant. He has absolute hearing and eidetic memory, therefore, he can pick up languages and accents the first time he hears them. That is how he got into the same programme for gifted students that Quentin is part of. 

That doesn’t stop him from attempting to numb his mind - sometimes he falls into debt with people in the drug cartel and they roughen him up to remind him he has to pay. Every time that happens, Vanya gives him money to pay them back. Klaus never really questions where exactly she gets the money from and Vanya never tells him that she spends her afternoons and nights working at a bar. She just wants to make sure that her brother, the only family she has left, is alright. 

Vanya desperately wants to study music, but she can only practice at school, because “nobody likes to hear that screeching at home”. So she rarely goes to their foster home. She stays at school until they close and then spends time at the bar. She takes naps in the storage room or in one of the booths after they close up. Vanya is the youngest bartender there, only just turned 17, she lied on her application and pretends she is older than she is (Klaus taught her a thing or two about how to lie). Alison and Eudora know (Vanya goes to the same school as Alison and is part of the theatre orchestra), but Vanya made both of them swear not to tell anyone because she desperately needs the money. The Patch sisters reluctantly agreed, but they don’t like to leave her there by herself and almost never let her take the weekend shifts (the number of drunks, high and overall weird people that flock towards dark, secluded night clubs is incredible). 

Vanya tends to go to this small doughnut shop every morning on her way to school. The shop is co-owned by two lovely ladies, Agnes and Grace. Agnes has a husband, Hazel, but unfortunately, they never managed to have kids, even though they both wanted to. Agnes adores Vanya and eventually (at the end of this AU) convinces her husband to adopt both White siblings. Grace has one son, Diego (because how could I separate these two?), who just about to start attending the police academy. He thinks of Vanya as his little sister and looks after her at school. Eventually, he meets Eudora and finds out that Vanya works at the bar and is outraged at the whole situation, but that doesn’t happen for a long while yet. Vanya also eventually brings Quentin to the doughnut shop and it becomes “their place”. Grace and Dolores eventually meet and bond over what they had to endure in their ill-fated marriages. (Grace’s husband was an army officer and died in action so she knows it is difficult to adjust to life alone, without the support of a spouse.) (And yes, apparently half of the father figures in this AU [except for Alison and Eudora’s dad, Diogo's hero of a father and Ben’s parents] are scum. I haven't even introduced Harold, yet. I just had to account for their traumas somehow.)

If you are wondering about Ben, then I can assure you that unlike most of the others he actually comes from a good, loving family. He is also part of the programme for gifted students and has been friends with Klaus for forever. He is not happy with his best friend’s drug abuse and tries to find ways to help him, but so far he hadn’t come up with a lasting solution. He is not giving up though. He is brilliant in maths and physics which is how he instantly befriends Quentin when the boy starts attending their school, but his favourite subject is literature, more specifically poetry. He and Vanya write songs together for the school musicals and at one point they think of starting a band with Diego.

I know this is really long already, so I am going to do a separate post for the plot of this headcanon. Look up either #Tees Thoughts to see all my crazy Umbrella Academy ideas or #Normellacademy (because I love to give my headcanons the worst names possible) for the second part of this particular headcanon. I will post the plot for this craziness soon.

[prorevenge]

Insult me for my efforts? I'll ruin your holiday.

I'm on mobile, so sorry in advance for formatting/typos. I never thought that I'd post here but I've finally gotten my share of justice boner (although maybe not as pro as y'all'd like -- as it's still ongoing, suggestions are solicited)!

My dad and I have been planning to hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu for about a year, to start on father's day (he'll soon be 60 so I wanted to help him cross this item off his bucket list before he gets older).

A coworker of my dad's decided that he wanted to join in on this trip with his daughter, and as it was my first trip to South America, I thought there would be some strength in numbers in case we run into trouble, and I accepted.

My dad's coworker (let's call him 58 because that's his age as well as his IQ) has never traveled much aside from Italy (through a package tour), and was completely inexperienced in traveling solo. As we began to plan this trip, his answer to everything became "I'll just do whatever you guys are doing (read in your best idiot's voice)."

Whatever, I was determined to make this trip the best one for my dad, and it wasn't a big deal for me to make the reservations for 4 people instead of 2, so despite the fact that 58 and his daughter (let's call her NP, for Nachu Picchu, obviously) were not pulling any weight on the trip planning, I was glad to do it, and happy to help 58 and NP experience the world (NP has never traveled outside of her home country as far as I know).

Unfortunately, trouble began almost immediately. 58 has packed way too much and literally could not handle all of his luggage, leaving me and my dad to carry one of his bags atop our suitcase (he never once said thank you, and my dad was already pissed on day 1). Here are some of their lesser offenses:

- if you've ever traveled Peru, you might know that most first-time travelers follow the same path (often called the Gringo trail), starting in Lima and following a few very small but touristy towns (Paracas, Huacachina, Nazca). Our plan was to stay in these towns for 4 days, where there is no ATM access. So I wrote to 58 many weeks before the trip to bring at least $500-600 usd + 400 soles in cash, to pay for hotel and transportation as well as food, and wrote clearly that he will not see an ATM for 4 days. As soon as we landed in Lima airport, 58 announced that he had precisely $305 and a very low ATM withdrawal limit (around $200 per day). I knew we were in trouble then (we ended up lending him some money to make him shut up whining about money, which he ended up doing daily)

- from that day onwards, 58 began harassing me about ATM every day despite the fact that I have told him that there won't be any ATMs (keep in mind that I'm his co-worker's daughter... Have some dignity maybe?)

- 58 also complained constantly that the Peruvians don't speak English, and that he had no trouble communicating in English on his package trip to Italy. Umm... Sorry for not having taught all the Peruvians English?

- Despite his massive luggage size, both 58 and NP didn't pack everything that they needed for the Inca Trail, and they wanted to spend an entire day shopping for trekking gears. To give you an idea of what these people are like, 58 needed a rubber end to his trekking pole, and wanted our help in finding a store that sells it. When my dad pointed out a store that had hiking sticks on display, he cried out in his whiny idiotic voice "I want the rubber end, not the hiking sticks!" *rolls eyes*

-At the Inca Trail, our hiking group was about 10 women and 5 men, and 58's comment in front of me and NP was "wow, this means all the dudes can have two girls each, eh?" Happy father's day, I guess!

At this point, since it'll become important later, I will honestly and seriously say that 58 seems to have some sort of cognitive problem. He can't usually follow conversations, and even though information was relayed to him, he had trouble either retaining it or processing it, and people usually have to repeat information several times to him before he gets it. So because I noticed this early on in the trip, I tried to be understanding for a long time.

I really tried my best to make this a great experience for them. With my limited Spanish, I was able to get some great deals and some hidden tours that aren't really known to many people yet; I have some fancy lounge access at all airports that lets me bring in unlimited number of guests, so 58 and NP were traveling in style with me, drinking free alcohol and munching on snacks on comfy sofas until boarding time; because I had a year to prepare, we all got great hotels at great prices, etc.

Nonetheless, the real trouble began about a week into our trip. My dad and I had gotten sick of the constant ATM hunting and trekking gear shopping, so we had told 58 and NP that we were going to split, see some sights, and since NP and I have roaming data plans, we'd figure out how to rendez-vous later.

I should have foreseen that 58 would not process this information at once. He somehow understood that we would come back in 15 minutes, and NP, although she understood what our plans were, didn't try to correct 58 (from what I've observed over the week, they don't have a great father-daughter chemistry, and have very little communication -- for example, when 58 was having a really rough time with altitude sickness on the Inca trail, NP was happily hiking at the front of the trip, a couple of hours ahead of her dad, and never once hiked alongside him during the 4 days). So apparently they waited for us in the freezing streets of Cusco for a long time. I'm told that 58 was already pissed at this point.

From here, things took a dramatic turn for the worse rather quickly.

We had just one key to the airbnb that we were staying in, which I had (frankly, didn't trust 58 to not lose it). But NP's phone died and she couldn't find her way back to our hotel for a long time (as they had no part in the trip planning, they had no idea which neighborhood the hotel was in; which landmarks were nearby, etc., although I had of course sent them all the info ages ago).

As a result, my dad and I were locked in our hotel for over an hour waiting for them, and NP and 58 were locked out for an hour. My dad and I eventually went out to take a walk and to hopefully run into them (maybe 20 minutes total) and during this time they came to the hotel, saw the door locked, and became even more pissed.

When they finally came back to the hotel, 58 (who is probably 6'4" to my 5'4") stormed directly in front of me, pointed a finger at my face, and screamed, I AM SO ANGRY, THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT, AND YOU CANNOT TREAT ME LIKE THIS, and proceed to have a temper tantrum for hours (I just locked myself in a room and my dad dealt with 58, during which 58 apparently asserted that the ATMs wouldn't give him enough money and it was my fault, the Peruvians don't speak English and it was my fault, I quoted all prices in USD and Peruvian soles and so I was not honest, NP's phone died and it was my fault, and they got lost and it was my fault). Essentially, he and NP told me that my plans were disorganized compared to 58's package Italy tour, and that I was a terrible person (for your reference, 58's Italy trip cost him $6k, his Peru trip cost him less than $2.5k). What a way to pour my year's efforts for this trip down the drain!

I had had enough, and I decided to take my revenge. With about 8 days to go in the trip, I announced to them that I would no longer travel with them, and that aside from the things that were already booked and paid for, they were on their own. 58 and NP both got very upset, understandably so, and NP made things worse by telling me that I should grow a thicker skin and that I should take this as a learning experience since surely someone else will get mad at me again, and that I cannot burn bridges so quickly like this.

Well, 58 and NP are having a learning experience of their lifetime, being thrown into a country that they have no knowledge of (since they didn't do any research or trip planning on Peru) and neither of them speak any Spanish. NP, an avid Instagrammer who was making 20+ updates while being with me and my dad, hasn't Instagrammed anything since we split. They also missed sights in Cusco such as the Salineras salt mines, Moray, the sun Temple, etc. They're also missing out big time in Lima, but since we still have about 20 hours left here, I won't list our plans here in case they see this (oh, I hope they do!)

Tomorrow our flight leaves at 2:40am from Lima, and 58 and NP will have to make a fun choice; either stay in Lima until around midnight (nights in Lima aren't exactly safe, especially for non-street-savvy travel n00bs) or wait at the uncomfortable and not-so-clean Lima airport for 6-7 hours. In the meantime, my dad and I will be chilling at a VIP lounge, have some free drinks, and try to catch a few winks before boarding. 58 and NP will definitely not be my guests.

Also, in case you're wondering, although 58 is my dad's coworker, my parents are also completely behind me on this; dad is incredibly pissed at 58 and will distance himself as far from 58 as office politics will allow, and has already told 58 that he crossed a line that should never have been crossed; 58 and his girlfriend have been wanting to get closer to my parents for ages and go camping together and whatnot, but my mom has firmly stated that she will never see 58's face ever again.

TL;DR: travel companions who completely relied on my trip planning (and couldn't even follow instructions) made the mistake of screaming at me for their own faults. So I ditched them in a random country that they know nothing about, and took away extra privileges that come with traveling with me (help with language barrier, VIP lounge access etc). If you have more ways to get revenge, let me know.

(source) (story by binbinbin3)